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LONDON: 
,lA]\rES JflSBET & CO., 21 BBENERB STREET. 



THE 

BATTERY AND THE BOILER 



OR 

ADVENTURES IN THE LAYING OF SUBMARINE 
ELECTRIC CABLES. 

BY R. M. BALLANTYNE, 

AUTHOR OF "the GIANT OF THE NORTH;" "THE LONELY ISLAND;" "POST HASTE; A 
TALE OF HER MAJESTY'S MAILS ;" " IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS ;" "tHB SETTLER 
AND THE SAVAGE ;" " UNDER THE WAVES ; " " RIVERS OF ICE ;" " BLACK IVORY ;" 
"the pirate CITY ;" "THE NORSEMEN IN THE WEST ;" " THE IRON HORSE 
"the FLOATING LIGHT OF THE GOODWIN SANDS;" " ERLING THE 
bold;" " FIGHTING the flames ;" " SHIFTING WINDS ;" "DEEP 

DOWN;" "the lighthouse;" "gascoyne;" "the 
lifeboat;" " the golden deeam," etc. 



LONDON: 
JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNERS STREET. 

1883. 

[All rights reserved.] 



PEEFACE. 



This book professes to do no more than 
scratcli the surface of a grand and interesting 
subject. It recounts a few of the adventures 
and experiences of those who compass land 
and sea in order to connect the ends of the 
earth by means of electric lines and cables. 

R. M, B, 

Haeeow-on-the-Hill, 
1882. 



DSi 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



CHAP. I.— IN WHICH THE HERO MAKES HIS PIBST PLASH AND 

EXPLOSION, ........ 1 

II.— EBFEBS TO A NOTABLE CHABACTEE, .... 8 

IIL — EABLY ASPIEATIONS, . . . . . , .17 

IV, — EXTBAOBDINABT BESULT OP AN ATTEMPT AT AMATEUR 

CABLE-LAYING, 22 

v.— PEOSPECTS OF BBAL CABLE-LAYING— EOBIN MEETS WITH 

HIS FIBST BLECTEICAL ACQUAINTANCES, ... 31 
VI.— TELLS OP OUE HEEO'S VISIT TO THE GEEAT CABLE, . 51 
VII. — THE BIG SHIP — PIBST NIGHT ABOAED, ... 63 

Vin. — LAYING THE CABLE — "FAULTS" AND FAULT-FINDING 

— ANXIETIES, ACCIDENTS, AND OTHEE MATTEES, . 74 
IX. — IN WHICH JOYS, HOPES, ALAEMS, GHOSTS, AND LEVIA- 
THANS TAKE PART, ....... 86 

X. — TELLS OP GEEAT EFFOETS AND PAILUBES AND GEAND 

SUCCESS, 102 

XL— home! 119 

XII.— A GEEAT DYNAMO-ELEOTBIC SEA-FIGHT, . . . 125 
XIIL — TELLS OP A SUDDEN AND UNLOOKED-FOR EVENT, . 135 

XIV.— THE BAFT, . 147 

XV.— LIFE ON THE BAPT, . . . . . . .160 

XVI. —IN WHICH WILL BE POUND MOBE SUEPEISES THAN ONE, 170 
XVII.— STBANGE DISCO VEEIES ON PIBATE ISLAND, . , .187 

xvin.— THE pieate's island— continued, .... 206 

XIX.— AN EXPLOEATION AND AN ACCIDENT, ... .225 



vi CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

CHAP. XX.— VARIOUS SUBJECTS TREATED OF, AND A GREAT FIGHT 

DETAILED, 239 

XXI. — DEPARTURE FROM PIRATE ISLAND AND HOPEFUL NEWS 

AT SARAWAK, ........ 259 

XXII. — BOMBAY— WHERE STUMPS COMES TO GRIEF, . . 274 
XXIIL— STUMPS IN DESPAIR— AND BOMBAY IN RAPTURES, . 283 
XXIV. — SHOWS THE DREADFUL DEPRAVITY OP MAN, AND THE 
AMAZING EFFECTS OF ELECTRICAL TREATMENT ON 

MAN AND BEAST, 300 

XXV.— A GREAT FIELD-DAY, IN WHICH SLAGQ DISTINGUISHES 

HIMSELF, 316 

XXVL— BEGINS WITH A DISAPPOINTMENT, CONTINUES WITH A 
GREAT RECEPTION, AND ENDS WITH A SERIES OP 
SURPRISES, ........ 325 

XXVII.— DESCRIBES SEVERAL IMPORTANT EVENTS, . . .343 
XXVIII,— THE CABLE LAID, . . . . . . .354 

XXIX.— UNCLE RIK's ADVENTURES, ...... 363 

XXX. — THE WRIGHT FAMILY REUNITED, AND SAM BECOMES 

HIGHLY ELECTRICAL, ...... 374 

XXXL— DESCRIBES A HAPPY HOME AND A HAPPIER MEETING, . 388 
XXXII.— IN WHICH THE STORY FINDS A "FAULT," AND THE 

ELECTRICAL CURRENT ENDS, ..... 399 



LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 



AN ELECTRIFIED TIGER (p. 310), . Frontispiece. 
ILLUSTRATED TITLE. 

TWO LEVIATHANS AT THE CABLE, . to face page m 
THE PIRATES' CAVE, . . . , . . 201 
ROBIN RESCUES LETTA, ..... 255 
THE LAST COIL, . . . ... . 361 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



CHAPTEE I. 

m WHICH THE HERO MAKES HIS FIEST FLASH AND EXPLOSION. 

Somewhere about the middle of this nineteenth 
century, a baby boy was born on the raging sea in 
the midst of a howling tempest. That boy was 
the hero of this tale. 

He was cradled in squalls, and nourished in 
squalor — a week of dirty weather having converted 
the fore-cabin of the emigrant ship into something 
like a pig-sty. Appreciating the situation, no 
doubt, the baby boy began his career with a squall 
that harmonised with the weather, and, as the 
steward remarked to the ship's cook, " continued 
for to squall straight on end all that day and night 
without so much as ever takin' breath !" It is but 
right to add that the steward was prone to exag- 
geration. 

A 



2 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" Stooard," said the ship's cook in reply, as he 
raised his eyes from the contemplation of his 
bubbling coppers, " take my word for it, that there 
babby what has just bin launched ain't agoin' to 
shovel off his mortal coil — as the play-actor said 
— without makin' his mark some'ow an' some- 
w'eres." 

"What makes you think so, Johnson?" asked 
the steward. 

"What makes me think so, stooard?" replied 
the cook, who was a huge good-natured young 
man. " Well, I '11 tell 'ee. I was standin' close to 
the fore hatch at the time, a-talkin' to Jim Brag, 
an' the father o' the babby, poor feller, he was 
standin' by the foretops'l halyards holdin' on to 
a belayin'-pin, an' lookin' as white as a sheet — 
for I got a glance at 'im two or three times 
doorin' the flashes o' lightnin'. Well, stooard, there 
was lightnin' playin' round the mizzen truck, an' 
the main truck, an' the fore truck, an' at the end o' 
the flyin' jib-boom, an' the spanker boom ; then 
there came a flash that seemed to set afire the 
entire univarse; then a burst o' thunder like fifty 
great guns gone off all at once in a hurry. At that 
identical moment, stooard, there came up from the 
fore-cabin a yell that beat — well, I can't rightly say 
what it beat, but it minded me o' that unfortnit 
pig as got his tail jammed in the capstan off Cape 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



3 



Horn. The father gave a gasp. ' It 's born,' says 
he. ' More like 's if it 's busted/ growled Jim Brag. 
'You're a unfeelin' monster, Brag/ says I; 'an' 
though you are the ship's carpenter, I will say it, 
you 'aven't got no more sympathy than the fluke 
of an anchor ! ' Hows'ever the poor father didn't hear 
the remark, for he went down below all of a heap 
■ — head, legs, and arms — anyhow. Then there came 
another yell, an' another, an' half a dozen more, 
which was followed by another flash o' lightnin' an' 
drownded in another roar o' thunder ; but the yells 
from below kep' on, an' came out strong between 
times, makin' no account whatever o' the whistlin' 
wind an' rattlin' ropes, which they riz above — 
easy. — 'Now, stooard, do you mean for to tell me 
that all that signifies nothink? Do you suppose 
that that babby could go through life like an or'nary 
babby ? No, it couldn't — not even if it vv^as to try 
— w'ich it won't !" 

Having uttered this prophecy the cook resumed 
the contemplation of his bubbling coppers. 

"Well, I suppose you're right, John Johnson/' 
said the steward. 

"Yes, I'm right, Tom Thomson," returned the 
cook, with the nod and air of a man who is never 
wrong. 

! And the cook -z^as right, as the reader who con- 
tinues to read shall find out in course of time. 



4 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

The gale in whicli little Eobin Wright was thus 
launched upon the sea of Time blew the sails of 
that emigrant ship — the Seahorse — to ribbons. It 
also blew the masts out of her, leaving her a help- 
less wreck on the breast of the palpitating sea. 
Then it blew a friendly sail in sight, by which pas- 
sengers and crew were rescued and carried safe back 
to Old England. There they separated — some to 
re-embark in other emigrant ships ; some to renew 
the battle of life at home — thenceforward and for 
ever after to vilify the sea in all its aspects, except 
when viewed at a safe distance from the solid land ! 

Little Eobin's parents were among the latter. 
His father, a poor gentleman, procured a situation 
as accountant in a mercantile house. His mother 
busied herself — and she was a very busy little 
creature — with the economics of home. She 
clothed Eobin's body and stored his mind. Among 
other things, she early taught him to read from 
the Bible. 

As Eobin grew he waxed strong and bold and 
lively, becoming a source of much anxiety, mingled 
with delight, to his mother, and of considerable 
alarm, mixed with admiration and surprise, to his 
father. He possessed an inquisitive mind. He 
inquired into everything — including the antique 
barometer and the household clock, both of which 
were heirlooms, and were not improved by his 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. & 

inquiries. Strange to say, Eobin's cHef delight in 
those early days was a thunderstorm. The rolling 
of heaven's artillery seemed to afford inexpressible 
satisfaction to his little heart, but it was the light- 
ning that affected him most. It filled him with 
a species of awfiil joy. No matter how it came — 
whether in the forked flashes of the storm, or the 
lambent gleamings of the summer sky — he would 
sit and gaze at it in solemn wonder. Even in his 
earliest years he began to make inquiries into that 
remarkable and mysterious agent. 

"Musser," he said one day, during a thunder- 
storm, raising his large eyes to his mother's face 
with intense gravity, — "Musser, what is lightenin' ?" 

Mrs. Wright, who was a soft little unscientific 
lady with gorgeous eyes, sat before her son per- 
plexed. 

"Well, child, it is — it — really, I don't know 
what it is ! " 

" Don't know ? " echoed Eobin, with surprise, " I 
sought you know'd everysing." 

" No, not everything, dear," replied Mrs. Wright, 
with a deprecatory smile ; " but here comes your 
father, who will tell you." 

" Does he know everysing ? " asked the child. 

" N — no, not exactly ; but he knows many things 
— oh, ever so many things," answered the cautious 
wife and mother. 



6 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



The accountant had barely crossed his humble 
threshold and sat down, when Eobin clambered on 
his knee and put the puzzling question — " Fasser, 
what is lightenin' ? " 

" Lightning, my boy ? — why, it 's — it 's — let me 
see — it's fire, of course, of some sort, that comes 
out o' the clouds and goes slap into the earth — 
there, don't you see it ? " 

Eobin did see it, and was so awestruck by the 
crash which followed the blinding flash that he 
forgot at the moment to push his inquiries further, 
much to his father's satisfaction, who internally 
resolved to hunt up the Encydopcedia Britannica 
that very evening — letter L — and study it. 

In process of time Eobin increased in size. As 
he expanded in body he developed in mind and in 
heart, for his little mother, although profoundly 
ignorant of electricity and its effects, was deeply 
learned in the Scriptures. But Eobin did not 
hunger in vain after scientific knowledge. By 
good fortune he had a cousin— cousin Sam Shipton 
— who was fourteen years older than himself, and a 
clerk at a neighbouring railway station, where there 
was a telegraphic instrument. 

Now, Sam being himself possessed of strongly 
scientific tendencies, took a great fancy to little 
Eobin, and sought to enlighten his young mind on 
many subjects where " musser's " knowledge failed. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



7 



Of course he could not explain all that he himself 
knew about electricity — the child was too young for 
that, — but he did what he could, and introduced him 
one day to the interior of the station, where he filled 
his youthful mind with amazement and admiration 
by his rapid, andapparently meaningless, manipu- 
lation of the telegraph instrument. 

Cousin Sam, however, did a good deal more for 
him than that in the course of time ; but before 
proceeding further, we must turn aside for a few 
minutes to comment on that wonderful subject 
which is essentially connected with the develop- 
ment of this tale. 



8 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



CHAPTER IL 

REFERS TO A NOTABLE CHARACTER. 

Spaeks, rule, are looked upon as a race of 
useless and disreputable fellows. Their course is 
usually erratic. They fly upward, downward, for- 
ward, and backward — here, there, and everywhere. 
You never know when you have them, or what will 
be their next flight. They often create a good deal 
of alai;m, sometimes much surprise ; they seldom do 
any good, and frequently cause irreparable damage. 
Only when caught and restrained, or directed, do 
sparks become harmless and helpful. 

But there is one Spark in this world — a grand, 
glowing, gushing fellow — who has not his equal 
anywhere. He is old as the hills — perhaps older — 
and wide as the world — perchance wider. Similar 
to ordinary sparks in some respects, he differs from 
them in several important particulars. Like many, 
he is " fast," but immeasurably faster than all other 
sparks put together. Unlike them, however, he 
submits to be led by master minds. Stronger than 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



9 



Hercules, he can rend tlie mountains. Fleeter than 
Mercury, he can outstrip the light. Gentler than 
Zephyr, he can assume the condition of a current, 
and enter our very marrow without causing pain. 
His name is Electricity. 'No one knows what he is. 
Some philosophers have said that he is a fluid, 
because he flows. As well might they call him a 
wild horse because he bolts, or a thief because he 
lurks ! We prefer to call him a Spark, because in 
that form only is he visible — at least when handled 
by man. 

Talking of that, it was not until the last century 
that master minds found out how to catch and handle 
our Spark. In all the previous centuries he had 
been roaming gaily about the world in perfect free- 
dom ; sometimes gliding silently to and fro like an 
angel of light; sometimes leaping forth with frightful 
energy in the midst of raging tempest, like a destruc- 
tive demon — ripping, rending, shattering all that 
attempted to arrest his course. Men have feared and 
shunned him since the beginning of time, and with 
good reason, for he has killed many of the human 
race. 

But although uncaught and untamed by them, our 
Spark was not altogether unknown to the ancients. 
So far back as the year 600 before the Christian era, 
Thales, one of the Greek sages, discovered that he 
hid himself in amber, a substance which in Greek 



10 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



is named electron — hence liis name Electricity ; 
but the ancients knew little about his character, 
though Thales found that he could draw him from 
his hiding-place by rubbing him with silk and some 
other substances. When thus rubbed he became 
attractive, and drew light creatures towards him — 
not unlike human sparks ! He also showed him- 
self to be fickle, for, after holding these light 
creatures tight for a brief space, he let them go 
and repelled them. 

It was not till the days of good Queen Bess, 
towards the end of the sixteenth century, that a 
Dr. Gilbert discovered that the wild fellow lay 
lurking in other substances besides amber — such as 
sulphur, wax, glass, etc. It is now known that 
Electricity permeates all substances more or less, 
and only waits to be roused in order to exhibit his 
amazing powers. He is fond of shocking people's 
feelings, and has surprised his pursuers rather 
frequently in that way. Some of them, indeed, he 
lias actually shocked to death ! 

It would take a huge volume to give a detailed 
account of all the qualities, powers, and peculiarities 
of this wild Spark. We will just touch on a few 
facts which are necessary to the elucidation of our 
tale. 

A great event in the world's history happened 
in the year 1745. It was nothing less than the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



11 



capture and imprisonment of wild, daring, dashing 
Electricity. To the Dutch philosophers belongs the 
honour of catching him. They caught him — ^they 
even bottled him, like ordinary spirits, and called 
his prison a Leyden Jar. 

From that date our Spark became the useful and 
obedient slave of man. Yet is he ever ready, when 
the smallest conceivable door, hole, or chink is left 
open, to dash out of the prison-house man has made 
for him, a^nd escape into his native earth ! 

He Has no hope now, however, of escaping alto- 
gether, for he cannot resist the allurement of rub- 
bing, by which, as well as by chemical action and 
other means, we can summon him, like the genii 
of Aladdin's lamp, at any moment, from the " vasty 
deep," and compel him to do our work. 

And what sort of work, it may be asked, can this 
volatile fellow perform ? We cannot tell all — the 
list is too long. Let us consider a few of them. 
If we fabricate tea-pots, sugar-basins, spoons, or 
anything else of base metal, he can and will, at our 
bidding, cover the same with silver or yellow gold. 
If we grow dissatisfied with our candles and gas, he 
will, on being summoned and properly directed by 
the master minds to whom he owns allegiance, 
kindle our lamps and fill our streets and mansions 
with a blaze of noonday splendour. If we grow 
weary of steam, and give him orders, he will drive 



12 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



our tram-cars and locomotives with railway speed, 
mimes railway smoke and fuss. He is a very giant 
in the chemist's laboratory, and, above all, a swift 
messenger to carry the world's news. Even when 
out and raging to and fro in a wild state, more than 
half-disposed to rend our mansions, and split our 
steeples, and wreck our ships, we have only to pro- 
vide him with a tiny metal stair -case, down which 
he will instantly glide from the upper regions to the 
earth without noise or damage. Shakespeare never 
imagined, and Mercury never accomplished, the 
speed at which he travels ; and he will not only 
carry our news or express our sentiments and wishes 
far and wide over the land, but he will rush with 
them, over rock, sand, mud, and ooze, along the 
bottom of the deep deep sea ! 

And this brings us to a point. Some of the 
master minds before mentioned, having conceived 
the idea that telegraphic communication might be 
carried on under water, set about experimenting. 
Between the years 1839 and 1851 enterprising men 
in the Old World and the ISTew suggested, pondered, 
planned, and placed wires under water, along which 
our Spark ran more or less successfully. 

One of the difficulties of these experiments con- 
sisted in this, that, while the Spark runs readily 
along one class of substances, he cannot, or will not, 
run along others. Substances of the first class, com- 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



13 



prising the metals, are called conductors ; those of 
the second class, embracing, among other things, 
all resinous substances, are styled non-conductors. 
IsTow, water is a good conductor. So that although 
the Spark will stick to his wires when insulated 
on telegraph-posts on land, he will bolt from them 
at once and take to flight the moment he gets under 
water. This difficulty was overcome by coating the 
wires with gutta-percha, which, being a non-con- 
ductor, imprisoned the Spark, and kept him, as it 
were, on the line. 

A copper wire covered in this manner was suc- 
cessfully laid between England and France in 1860. 
When tested, this cable did not work well. Minute 
imperfections, in the form of air-holes in the gutta- 
percha, afforded our Spark an opportunity to bolt ; 
and he did bolt, as a matter of course — for electricity 
has no sense of honour, and cannot be trusted near 
the smallest loop-hole. The imperfections were 
remedied ; the door was effectually locked, after 
which the first submarine cable of importance was 
actually laid down, and worked well. French and 
English believers turned up hands and eyes in 
delighted amazement, as they held converse across 
the sea, while unbelievers were silenced and con- 
founded. 

This happy state of things, however, lasted for 
only a few hours. Suddenly the intercourse ceased. 



1 4 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 

The telegraphists at both ends energised with their 
handles and needles, but without any result. The 
cable was dumb. Our Spark had evidently escaped ! 

There is no effect without a cause. The cause of 
that interruption was soon discovered. 

Early that morning a French fisherman had 
sauntered down to the port of Boulogne and em- 
barked in his boat. A British seaman, having 
nothing to do but smoke and meditate, was seated on 
a coil of rope at the time, enjoying himself and the 
smells with which that port is not unfamiliar. He 
chanced to be a friend of that French fisherman. 

" You 're early afloat, Mounseer," he said. 

" Oui, monsieur. Vill you com' ? I go for feesh." 

" Well, wee ; I go for fun." 

They went accordingly and bore away to the 
northward along the coast before a light breeze, — • 
past the ruined towers which France had built to 
guard her port in days gone by; past the steep 
cliffs beyond Boulogne; past the lovely beach of 
Wimereux, with its cottages nestled among the 
sand-hills, and its silted-up harbour, whence IsTapo- 
leon the First had intended to issue forth and 
descend on perfidious Albion — but didn't ; past 
cliffs, and bays, and villages further on, until they 
brought up off Cape Grisnez. Here the Frenchman 
let down his trawl, and fished up, among other 
curiosities of the deep, the submarine cable ! 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



15 



"Behold ! fat is dis ?" he exclaimed, with glaring 
eyes, uplifted brows, shoulders shrugged, hands 
spread out, and fingers expanded. 

"The sea-sarpint grow'd thiu," suggested the 
Englishman. 

" Non ; c'est seaveed — veed de most 'strordinair 
in de vorld. Oui, donnez-moi de hache, de hax, 
mon ami." 

His friend handed him the axe, wherewith he 
cut off a small portion of the cable and let the end 
go. Little did that fisherman know that he had 
also let our Spark go free, and cruelly dashed, for a 
time at least, the budding hopes of two nations — ■ 
but so it was. He bore his prize in triumph to 
Boulogne, where he exhibited it as a specimen of 
rare seaweed with its centre filled with gold, while 
the telegraph clerks at both ends sat gazing in 
dismay at their useless instruments. 

Thus was the first submarine electric cable 
destroyed. And with the details of its destruction 
little Ptobin was intimately acquainted, for cousin 
Sam had been a member of the staff that had 
worked that telegraph — at least he had been a boy 
in the office, — and in after years he so filled his 
cousin's mind with the importance of that cable, 
and the grandeur and difficulty of the enterprise, 
that Eobin became powerfully sympathetic — so 
much so that when Sam, in telling the story, came 



16 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



to the point where the Frenchman accomplished its 
destruction, Kobin used to grieve over it as though 
he had lost a brother, or a kitten, or his latest 
toy! 

We need scarcely add that submarine cable 
telegraphy had not received its death-blow on that 
occasion. Its possibility had been demonstrated. 
The very next year (1851) Mr. T. E. Crampton, 
with Messrs. Wollaston, Kiiper, and others, made 
and laid an improved cable between Dover and 
Calais, and ere long many other parts of the world 
were connected by means of snaky submarine 
electric cables. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



17 



CHAPTER IIL 

EABLY ASPIEATIONS. 

One pleasant summer afternoon, Mr. Wright, 
coming in from the office, seated himself beside his 
composed little wife, who was patching a pair of 
miniature pantaloons. 

" ITan," said the husband, with a perplexed look, 
"what are, we to do with our Eobin when he grows 
up ?" 

"George," answered the composed wife, ''don't 
you think it is rather soon to trouble ourselves 
with that question ? Eobin is a mere child yet. 
We must first give him a good education." 

" Of course, I know that," returned the perplexed 
husband, " still, I can't help thinking about what is 
to be done after he has had the good education. 
You know I have no relation in the world except 
brother Richard, who is as poor as myself. We 
have no influential friends to help him into the 
Army or the Navy or the Indian Civil Service; 
and the Church, you know, is not suitable for an 
imp. Just look at him now !" 

B 



18 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



Mrs. Wright looked through, the window, over 
one of those sunny landscapes which are usually 
described as "smiling/' across a winding rivulet, 
and at last fixed her gorgeous eyes on a tall post, 
up which a small black object was seen to be 
struggling. 

" What can he be up to ? " said the father. 

"He seems to be up the telegraph-post," said 
the mother, " investigating the wires, no doubt. I 
heard him talking about telegraphy to Madge this 
morning — retailing what cousin Sam tries to teach 
him, — and I shouldn't wonder if he were now endea- 
vouring to make sure that what he told her was 
correct, for you know he is a thorough investigator," 

"Yes, I know it," murmured the father, with 
a grim pursing of his lips; "he investigated the 
inside of my watch last week, to find out, as he 
said, what made the noise in its ' stummick,' and it 
has had intermittent fever ever since. Two days 
ago he investigated my razor, — it is now equal to a 
cross-cut saw ; and as to my drawers and papers, 
excepting those which I lock up, there is but one 
word which fully describes the result of his in- 
vestigations, and that i^-— chaos." 

There was, in truth, some ground for that father's 
emotions, for Master Eobin displayed investigative, 
not to say destructive, capacities far in advance of 
his years. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



19 



" Never mind, George/' said Mrs. Wright sooth- 
ingly, " we must put up with his little ways as best 
we may, consoling ourselves with the reflection 
that Eobin has genius and perseverance, with 
which qualities he is sure to make his way in the 
world." 

" He has at all events made his v/ay up the 
telegraph-post," said Mr. Wright, his smile expand- 
ing and the grimness of it departing ; " see ! the 
rascal is actually stretching out his hand to grasp 
one of the wires. Ha ! hallo !" 

The composed wife became suddenly discom- 
posed, and gave vent to a scream, for at that 
moment the small black object which they had 
been watching with so much interest was seen to 
fall backward, make a wild grasp at nothing with 
both hands, and fall promptly to the ground. 

His father threw up the window, leaped out, 
dashed across the four-feet-wide lawn, cleared the 
winding rivulet, and cut, like a hunted hare, over 
the smiling landscape towards the telegraph-post, 
at the foot of which he picked up his unconscious 
though not much injured son. 
I "What made you climb the post, Eobin?" asked 
his cousin Madge that evening, as she nursed the 
adventurous boy on her knee — and Madge was a 
very motherly nurse, although a full year younger 
than Eobin, 



20 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" I kimed it to see if I could hear the 'trissity," 
replied the injured one. 

" The M-trissity," said Madge, correcting. " You 
must learn to p'onounce your words popperly, dear. 
You'll never be a great man if you are so careless." 

" I don't want to be a g'eat man," retorted Eobin. 
" I on'y want t'understand things whats puzzlesum." 

"Well, does the telegraph puzzle you?" 

"Oh! mos' awfully," returned Eobin, with a 
solemn gaze of his earnest eyes, one of which was 
rendered fantastic by a yellow-green ring round it 
and a swelling underneath. " I 's kite sure I 's stood 
for hours beside dat post listin' to it hummin' an' 
bummin' like our olianarp — " 

" Now, Eobin, do be careful. You know mamma 
calls it an olian harp." 

"Yes, well, like our olian A-arp, only a deal 
louder, an' far nicer. An' I's often said to myself, 
Is that the 'trissity—? " 

" Lek, Eobin, lek ! " 

" Well, yes, Ze^-trissity. So I thought I'd kime 
up an' see, for, you know, papa says the 'trissity — 
lek, I mean — runs along the wires — " 

" But papa also says," interrupted Madge, " that 
the sounds you want to know about are made by 
the vi — the vi — " 

" Bratin'," suggested the invalid. 

" Yes, vibratin' of the wires." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



21 



"I wonder what vi-bratin' means," murmnred 
Eobin, turning his lustrous though damaged eyes 
meditatively on the landscape. 

" Don'no for sure," said Madge, " but I think it 
means tremblin'." 

It will be seen from the above conversation that 
Eobert Wright and his precocious cousin Marjory 
were of a decidedly philosophical turn of mind. 



22 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

EXTRAORDINARY RBSITLT OF AN ATTEMPT AT AMATEUR CABIiE-LAYING. 

Time continued to roll additional years off his 
reel, and rolled out Eobin and Madge in length and 
breadth, though we cannot say much for thickness. 
Time also developed their minds, and Eobin gradu- 
ally began to understand a little more of the nature 
of that subtle fluid — if we may venture so to call 
it — under the influence of which he had been born. 

" Come, Madge," he said one day, throwing on his 
cap, " let us go and play at cables." 

Madge, ever ready to play at anything, put on 
her sun-bonnet and followed her ambitious leader. 

" Is it to be land-telegraphs to-day, or submarine 
cables ?" inquired Madge, with as much gravity and 
earnestness as if the world's welfare depended on 
the decision. 

"Cables, of course," answered Eobin, "why, 
Madge, I have done with land-telegraphs now. 
There 's nothing more to learn about them. Cousin 
Sam has put me up to everything, you know. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



23 



Besides, there 's no mystery about land-lines. Why, 
youVe only got to stick up a lot o' posts with in- 
sulators screwed to 'em, fix wires to the insulators, 
clap on an electric battery and a telegraph instru- 
ment, and fire away." 

"Eobin, what are insulators?" asked Madge, with 
a puzzled look, 

"Madge," replied Eobin, with a self-satisfied 
expression on his pert face, "this is the three- 
hundred-thousandth time I have explained that 
to you." 

"Explain it the three-hundred-thousand-and-first 
time, then, dear Eobin, and perhaps I'll take it 
in." 

"Well," began Eobin, with a hypocritical sigh 
of despair, "you must know that everything in 
nature is more or less a conductor of electricity, but 
some things conduct it ^o well — such as copper 
and iron — that they are called conductors, and some 
things — suclj as glass and earthenware — conduct it 
so very badly that they scarcely conduct it at all, 
and are called non-conductors. D'ee see ?" 

" Oh yes, I see, Eobin ; so does a bat, but h© 
doesn't see well. However, go on." 

"Well, if I were to run my wire through the 
posts that support it, my electricity would escape 
down these posts into the earth, especially if the 
posts were wet with rain, for water is a good con- 



24 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



ductor, and Mister Electricity has an irresistible 
desire to bolt into the earth, like a mole." 

" Naughty fellow ! " mnrmnred Madge. 

"But," continued Eobin impressively, "if I fix 
little lumps of glass with a hole in them to the 
posts, and fix my wires to these. Electricity cannot 
bolt, because the glass lumps are non-conductors, 
and won't let him pass." 

"How good of them !" said Madge. 

" Yes, isn't it ? So, you see," continued Eobin, 
" the glass lumps are insulators, for they cut the elec- 
tricity off from the earth as an island is, or, at all 
events, appears to be, cut off from it by water ; and 
Mister Electricity must go along the wires and do 
what I tell him. Of course, you know, I must make 
my electricity fi.rst in a battery, which, as I have 
often and often told you, is a trough containing a 
mixture of acid and water, with plates or slices of 
zinc and copper in it, placed one after the other, but 
not touching each other. E"ow, if I fix a piece of 
wire to my first copper slice or plate, and the other 
end of it to my last zinc slice or plate, immediately 
electricity will begin to be made, and will fly from 
the copper to the zinc, and so round and round until 
the plates are worn out or the wire broken. D'ee 
see?" 

" No, Eobin, I don't see ; I 'm blinder than the 
blindest mole." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



25 



" Oh, Madge, what a wonderful mind you must 
have !" said Eobin, laughing. " It is so simple." 

" Of course," said Madge, " I understand what 
you mean by troughs and plates and all that, but 
what I want to know is why that arrangement is 
necessary. Why would it not do just as well to 
tempt electricity out of its hiding-hole with plates 
or slices of cheese and bread, placed one after the 
other in a trough filled with a mixture of glue and 
melted butter V 

What stuff you do talk, Madge ! As well might, 
you ask why it would not do to make a pluni- 
pudding out of nutmegs and coal-tar. There are 
some things that no fellow can understand, and of 
course I don't know everything I" 

The astounding modesty of this latter remark 
seemed to have furnished Madge with food for 
reflection, for she did not reply to it. After a few 
minutes' walk the amateur electricians reached the 
scene of their intended game — a sequestered dell in 
a plantation, through which brawled a rather tur- 
bulent stream. At one part, where a willow over- 
hung the water, there was a deep broad pool. The 
stream entered the pool with a headlong plunge, 
and issued from it with a riotous upheaval of wave- 
lets and foam among jagged rocks, as if rejoicing in, 
and rather boastful about, the previous leap. 

The game was extremely simple. The pool was, 



26 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



to be the German Ocean, and a piece of stout cord 
was to serve as a submarine cable. 

The boy and girl were well-matched play- 
mates, for Madge was ignorant and receptive — in 
reference to science, — Eobin learned and com- 
municative, while both were intensely earnest. 

" Now, this is the battery," said Eobin, when he 
had dug a deep hole close to the pool with a spade 
brought for the purpose. 

" Yes, and the muddy water in it will do for the 
mixture of acid and water," said Madge. 

As she spoke, Eobin's toe caught on a root, and 
he went headlong into the battery, out of which he 
emerged scarcely recognisable. It was a severe, 
though not an electric, shock, and at first Eobin 
seemed inclined to whimper, but his manhood 
triumphed, and he burst into a compound laugh 
and yell, to the intense relief of Madge, who thought 
at first that he had been seriously injured. 

" Never mind, Madge," said Eobin, as he cleansed 
his muddy head ; " cousin Sam has often told me 
that nothing great was ever done except in the 
face of difficulties and dangers. I wonder whether 
this should be counted a difficulty or a danger ?" 

" At first I thought it a danger," said Madge, 
with a laugh, "but the trouble you now have 
with the mud in your hair looks like a difficulty, 
doesn't it?" 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



27 



" Why, then, it 's both/' cried Kobin. " Come, 
that's a good beginning. Now, Madge, you get 
away round to the opposite side of the pool, and 
mind you don't slip in, it 's rather steep there." 

" This is England," cried Eobin, preparing to 
throw the line over to his assistant, who stood 
eager to aid on the other side, " and you are stand- 
ing on — on — what 's on the other side of the German 
Ocean?" 

" I 'm not sure, Eobin. Holland, I think, or 
Denmark." 

" Well, we '11 say Denmark. Look out now, and 
be ready to catch. I 'm going to connect England 
and Denmark with a submarine cable." 

" Stay !" cried Madge, "is that the way submarine 
cables are laid, by throwing them over the sea ?" 

"N" — no, not exactly. They had a steamboat, 
you know, to carry over the telegraph from England 
to France ; but we haven't got a steamer — not even 
a plank to make-believe one. Cousin Sam says that 
a good workman can do his work with almost any 
tools that come to hand. As we have no tools at 
all, we will improve on that and go to work without 
them. IsTow, catch !" 

Eobin made a splendid heave — so splendid indeed 
that it caused him to stagger backward, and again 
he stumbled into his own battery! This time, 
however, only one leg was immersed. 



28 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



"Another danger !" shouted Madge in great glee, 
" but I 've caught the cable." 

" All right. 'Now make fast the shore-end to a 
bush, and we '11 commence telegraphing. The first 
must be a message from the Queen to the King of 
Denmark — or is it the President ?" 

" King, I think, Eobin, but I 'm not sure." 

" Well, it won't matter. But — I say — " 

" What 's wrong now ?" 

" Why, the cable won't sink. It is floating about^ 
on the top of the pool, and it can't be a submarine 
cable, you know, unless it sinks." 

" Another difficulty, Eobin." 

" We will face and overcome it, Madge. Cast- 
off the shore-end and I '11 soon settle that." 

Having fastened a number of small stones to the 
cable, this persevering electrician would certainly 
have overcome the difficulty if the line had not, 
when thrown, unfortunately caught on a branch of 
the willow, where it hung suspended just out of 
Madge's reach. 

" How provoking !" she said, stretching out her 
hand to the utmost. 

" Take care— you '11— ha !" 

The warning came too late. The edge of the 
bank gave way, and Madge went headlong into the 
pool with a wild shriek and a fearful plunge. 

Eobin stood rooted to the spot — heart, breath, 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 29 



Mood, brain, paralysed for the moment — gazing at 
the spot where his playmate had disappeared. 

Another moment and her head and hands ap- 
peared. She struggled bravely for life, while the 
circling current carried her quickly to the lower 
end of the pool. 

Eobin's energies returned, as he afterwards said, 
like an electric shock, but accompanied with a 
terrible sinking of the heart, for he knew that he 
could not swim ! His education in this important 
particular had been neglected. He sprang round 
to the lower end of the pool just in time to hold 
out his hand to the drowning girl He almost 
touched her outstretched hand as she swept to- 
wards the turbulent waters below, but failed to 
grasp it. 

For the first time in his life our little hero was 
called on to face death voluntarily. Another 
moment and Madge would have been caught in the 
boiling stream that rushed towards the fall below. 
He was equal to the occasion. He sprang right 
upon Madge and caught her in his arms. There 
was no need to hold on to her. In the agony of 
fear the poor child clasped the boy in a deadly 
embrace. They were whirled violently round and 
hurled against a rock. Eobin caught it with one 
hand, but it was instantly torn from his grasp. The 
waters overwhelmed them, and again sent them 



30 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



violently towards the bank. This time Eobin 
caught a rock with both hands and held on. 
Slowly, while almost choked with the water that 
splashed up into his face, he worked his right knee 
into a crevice, then made a wild grasp with the 
left hand at a higher projection of the rock. At 
the same moment his left foot struck the bottom. 
Another effort and he was out of danger, but it was 
several minutes ere he succeeded in dragging Madge 
from the hissing water of the shallows to the green 
sward above, and after this was accomplished he 
found it almost impossible to tear himself from the 
grasp of the now unconscious girl. 

At first poor Eobin thought that his companion 
was dead, but by degrees consciousness returned, 
and at last she was able to rise and walk. 

Drenched, dishevelled, and depressed, these un- 
fortunate electricians returned home. 

Of course they were received with mingled joy 
and reproof. Of course, also, they were forbidden 
to go near the pool again — though this prohibition 
was afterwards removed, and our hero ultimately 
became a first-rate swimmer and diver. 

Thus was frustrated the laying of the first sub- 
marine cable between England and Denmark 1 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



31 



CHAPTER V. 

PROSPECTS OF REAL CABLE-LAYING— ROBm MEETS WITH HIS FIRST 
ELECTRICAL ACQUAINTANCES, 

CmcuMSTANCES require that we should shift the 
scene and the date pretty frequently in this tale. 
We solicit the reader's attendance at an office in 
London. 

The office is dingy. Many offices are so. Two 
clerks are sitting in it making faces at each other 
across their desk. They are not lunatics. They 
are not imbeciles or idlers. On the contrary, they 
have frequent spells of work that might throw the 
toils of an Arab ass into the shade. They are fine 
strapping young fellows, with pent-up energies equal 
to anything, but afflicted with occasional periods of 
having nothing particular to do. These two have 
been sitting all morning in busy idleness. Their 
muscular and nervous systems rebelling, have in- 
duced much fidgeting and many wry faces. Being 
original, they have turned their sorrows into a game, 
and their little game at present is to see which can 



32 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



make a face so hideous that the other shall be com- 
pelled to laugh ! We have deep sympathy with 
clerks. We have been a clerk, and know what it is 
to have the fires of Vesuvius raging within, while 
under the necessity of exhibiting the cool aspect of 
Spitzbergen without. 

But these clerks were not utterly miserable. On 
the contrary, they were, to use one of their own 
familiar phrases, rather jolly than otherwise. Even- 
ing was before them in far-off but attainable per- 
spective. Home, lawn-tennis, in connection with 
bright eyes and pretty faces, would compensate for 
the labours of the day and let off the steam. They 
were deep in their game when a rap at the door 
brought their faces suddenly to a state of nature. 

" Come in," said the first clerk. 

" And wipe your feet," murmured the second, in 
a low tone. 

A gentleman, with an earnest countenance, 
entered. 

" Is Mr. Lowstoft in his office ? " 

" He is, sir," said the first clerk, descending from 
his perch with an air of good- will, and requesting 
the visitor's name and business. 

The visitor handed his card, on which the name 
Cyrus rield was written, and the clerk, observing 
it, admitted the owner at once to the inner sanctum 
where Mr. Lowstoft transacted business. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



33 



" There 's something up," murmured tlie clerk, with 
a mysterious look at his comrade, on resuming his 
perch. 

" Time 's up, or nearly so," replied the comrade, 
with an anxious look at the clock ; 

" The witching hour which sets us free 
To saunter home aud have our tea — 

approaches." 

" D' you know that that is Cyrus Field V* said the 
first clerk. 

" And who is Cyrus Field ?" demanded the second 
clerk. 

" 0 ignoramus ! Thy name is Bob, and thou art 
not worth a ' bob ' — miserable snob ! Don't you 
know that Cyrus Field is the man who brought 
about the laying of the great Atlantic Cable in 

1858 r 

" No, most learned Fred, I did not know that, 
but I am very glad to know it now. Moreover, I 
know nothing whatever about cables — Atlantic 
or otherwise. I am as blind as a bat, as 
ignorant as a bigot, as empty as a soap-bubble, 
and as wise as Solomon, because I 'm willing to be 
taught." 

"What a delicious subject to work upon!" said 
Fred. 

" Well then, work away," returned Bob ; " suppose 
you give me a discourse on Cables. But, I say— be 

0 



34 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



merciful. Don't overdo it, Frederick. Eemember 
that my capacity is feeble." 

" I '11 be careful, Bob. — Well then, you must know 
that from the year 1840 submarine, cables had been 
tried and laid, and worked with more or less suc- 
cess, in various parts of the world. Sir W. 
O'Shaughnessy, I believe, began it. Irishmen are 
frequently at the root of mischief! Anyhow, he, 
being Superintendent of Electric Telegraphs in 
India in 1839, hauled an insulated wire across the 
Hooghly at Calcutta, and produced what they call 
' electrical phenomena ' at the other side of the 
river. In 1840 Mr. Wheatstone brought before 
the House of Commons the project of a cable from 
Dover to Calais. In 1842 Professor Morse of 
America laid a cable in 1^'ew York harbour, and 
another across the canal at Washington. He also 
suggested the possibility of laying a cable across 
the Atlantic Ocean. In 1846 Colonel Colt, of 
revolver notoriety, and Mr. Eobinson laid a wire 
from New York to Brooklyn, and from Long 
Island to Correy Island. In 1849 — '' 

" I say, Fred," interrupted Bob, with an anxious 
look, "you are a walking dictionary of dates. 
Haydn was nothing to you. But — couldn't you 
give it me without dates? I've got no head for 
dates ; never could stomach them — except when 
fresh off the palm-tree. Don't you think that a 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEK. 



35 



lecture without dates Would be pleasantly original 
as well as instructive ? " 

" No, Bob, I don't, and I won't be guilty of any 
such gross innovation on time-honoured custom. 
You must swallow my dates whether you like them 
or not. In 1849, I say, a Mr. Walker—" 

" Any relation to Hookey ?" 

" 'No, sir, none whatever — he laid a wire from 
Folkestone to a steamer two miles off the shore, and 
sent messages to it. At last, in 1851, Mr. Brett 
laid down and successfully wrought the cable 
between Dover and Calais which had been sug- 
gested by Wheatstone eleven years before. It is 
true it did not work long, but this may be said to 
have been the beginning of submarine telegraphy, 
which, you see, like your own education, Bob, has 
been a thing of slow growth." 

" Have you done with dates, now, my learned 
friend ? " asked Bob, attempting to balance a ruler 
on the point of his nose. 

"Not quite, my ignorant chum, but nearly. 
That same year — 1851 remember — a Mr. Frederick 
K Gisborne, an English electrician, made the 
first attempt to connect ISTewfoundland with the 
American continent by cable. He also started a 
company to facilitate intercourse between America 
and Ireland by means of steamers and telegraph 
cables. Gisborne was very energetic and success- 



36 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



ful, but got into pecuniary difficulties, and went to 
New York to raise the wind. There he met with 
Cyrus Eield, who took the matter up with 
tremendous enthusiasm. He expanded Gisborne's 
idea, and resolved to get up a company to connect 
Newfoundland with Ireland by electric cable. 
Field was rich and influential, and ultimately suc- 
cessful — " 

" Ah ! would that you and I were rich, Fred," 
interrupted Bob, as he let fall the ruler with a 
crash on the red-ink bottle, and overturned it; 
" but go on, Fred, I 'm getting interested ; pardon 
the interruption, and never mind the ink, 1 11 swab 
it up. — He was successful, was he ? " 

" Yes, he was ; eminently so. He first of all roused 
his friends in the States, and got up, in 1856, the 
' New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph 
Company,' which carried a line of telegraph through 
the British Provinces, and across the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence to St. John's, Newfoundland — more than 
1000 miles— at a cost of about £500,000. Then he 
came over to England and roused the British Lion, 
with whose aid he started the ' Atlantic Telegraph 
Company,' and fairly began the work, backed by 
such men as Brett, Bidden, Stephenson, Brunei, 
Glass, Eliot, Morse, Bright, Whitehouse, and a host 
of others. But all this was not done in a day. 
Cyrus Field laboured for years among preliminaries, 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 



37 



and it was not until 1857 that a regular attempt 
was made to lay an Atlantic cable. It failed, 
because the cable broke and was lost. A second 
attempt was made in 1858, and was successful. In 
that year, my boy, Ireland and ISTewfoundland were 
married, and on the 5th of August the first electric 
message passed between the Old World and the New, 
through a small wire, over a distance of above 2000 
miles. But the triumph of Field and his friends 
was short-lived, for, soon after, something went 
wrong with the cable, and on the 6th September 
it ceased to work." 

" What a pity ! " exclaimed Bob ; " so it all went 
off in smoke." 

"Not quite that. Bob. Before the cable struck 
work about 400 messages had been sent, which 
proved its value in a financial point of view, and 
one of these messages — sent from London in the 
morning and reaching Halifax the same day — 
directed that 'the 62d Eegiment was not to 
return to England,' and it is said that this timely 
warning saved the country an expenditure of 
£50,000. But the failure, instead of damping, 
has evidently stimulated the energies of Mr. Field, 
who has been going about between America and 
England ever since, stirring people up far and near 
to raise the funds necessary for another attempt. 
He gives himself no rest; has embarked his own 



38 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

fortune in the affair, and now, at this moment, 
in this year of grace 1865, is doing his best, I 
have no doubt, to induce our governor, Mr. Lows- 
toft, to embark in the same boat with himself." 

It would seem as if Fred had been suddenly 
endowed with the gift of second- sight, for at that 
moment the door of his employer's room opened, 
and Mr. Lowstoft came out, saying to his visitor, 
in the most friendly tones, that he had the deepest 
sympathy with his self-sacrificiDg efforts, and with 
the noble work to which he had devoted himself. 

Bob, in a burst of sudden enthusiasm, leaped off 
his stool, opened the office-door, and muttered 
something as the distinguished visitor passed him. 

" I beg pardon," said Mr, Field, checking himself, 
" what did you say ? " 

"I — I wish you good luck, sir, with — with the 
new cable," stammered the clerk, blushing deeply, 

" Thank you, lad — thank you," said Mr, Field, 
with a pleasant smile and nod, as he went away, 

" Mr. Sime," said Mr. Lowstoft to Bob, turning 
at the door of his room, " send young Wright 
to me." 

" Yes, sir," replied the obedient Bob, going to a 
corner of the room and applying his lips to a 
speaking-tube. 

Now young Wright was none other than our 
hero Eobin grown up to the mature age of fifteen. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 



39 



He was perched on the top of a three-legged 
stool, and, from the slow and intensely earnest 
manner in which his head turned from side to side 
as he wrote, it was quite evident that he dotted 
all his IS, and stroked all his fs with conscientious 
care. As he sat there — a sturdy little broad- 
shouldered fellow, so deeply engrossed with his 
work that he was oblivious of all around — he 
seemed the very heau-iddal of a painstaking, hard- 
working clerk. So deeply was he engrossed in his 
subject — the copying of an invoice — that he failed 
to hear the voice of his fellow-clerk, although the 
end of the speaking-tube was not far from where 
he sat. After listening a few seconds at the other 
end of the tube, Bob Sime repeated the summons 
with such vigour that Eobin leaped from his stool 
as though he had received one of his favourite 
electric shocks. A minute later he stood in the 
presence of the Head of the House. 

"Eobert Wright," said the Head, pushing his 
spectacles up on his brow, " I shall be sorry to lose 
your services, but — " 

He paused and turned over the papers before him, 
as if searching for something, and Eobin's heart sank. 
Was he going to be dismissed ? Had he done any- 
thing wrong, or had he unwittingly neglected some 
duty ? 

" Ah ! here it is," resumed Mr. Lowstoft, " a letter 



40 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



from a friend who has come by a slight injury to 
his right hand, and wants a smart amanuensis and 
general assistant. Now I think of sending you to 
him, if you have no objection." 

As the Head again paused while glancing over the 
letter, Eobin ventured timidly to state that he had 
very strong objections ; that he was very much 
satisfied with his situation and work, and had no 
desire to change. 

Mr. Lowstoft did not appear to listen to his 
remarks, but said suddenly — 

"You've studied the science of electricity, I be- 
lieve?" 

" Yes, sir — to some extent," answered the lad, with 
a look of surprise. 

" I know you have. Your father has told me 
about your tastes and studies. You've heard of 
Mr. Cyrus Field, I presume ?" 

" Indeed I have," said Eobin, brightening up, " it 
was through his efforts that the Atlantic Cable was 
laid in 1858 — which unfortunately went wrong." 

"Well, my boy, it is through his efforts that 
another cable is to be laid in this year 1865, which 
we all hope sincerely won't go wrong, and my friend, 
who wants an assistant, is one of the electricians 
connected with the new expedition. Would you 
like to go?" 

Kobin's eyes blazed, and he could scarcely find 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



41 



breath or words to express his willingness — if his 
father did not object. 

" Go home at once, then, and ask leave, for the 
Great Eastern is almost ready for sea, and you will 
have to hasten your preparations." 

Eobin stroked no more fs and dotted no more i's 
that day. We fear, indeed, that he even left the 
invoice on his desk unfinished, with the last i 
imperfect. 

/ Bursting into his father's house, he found Madge 
— now become a pretty little slip of feminine 
thread-paper — seated at the piano agonising over 
a chord which her hand was too small to com- 
pass. 

"Madge, Madge, cousin Madge!" he shouted, 
seizing both the extended little hands and kissing 
the musical wrinkles from her brow, " why am I like 
a magnet ? You '11 never guess." 

"Because you attract everybody to you," said 
Madge promptly. 

"Pooh I not at all. A magnet doesn't attract 
every body. It has two poles, don't you know, and 
repels some bodies. No, Madge, it 's because I have 
been electrified." 

" Indeed ? and what has electrified you, Eobin ?" 

" The Atlantic Cable, Madge." 

" Well, that ought to be able to do it powerfully,'* 
returned Madge, with a laugh ; " but tell me all about 



42 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



it, and don't make more bad conundrums. I 'm sure 
something has happened. What is it ?" 

Mrs, Wright, entering at the moment, her son 
calmed himself as well as he could, and sat down to 
tell his tale and talk the matter over. 

"Now, what think you, mother? Will father 
consent ?" 

" I think he will, Eobin, but before going into the 
matter further, I will lay it before our Father in 
heaven. He must show us the way, if we are to go 
right." 

According to invariable custom, Eobin's mother 
retired to her own room to consider the proposal. 
Thereafter she had a long talk with her husband, 
and the result was that on the following day our 
hero found himself in a train with a small new 
portmanteau by his side, a new billy-cock hat on 
his head, a very small new purse in his pocket, with 
a remarkably small sum of money therein, and a 
light yet full heart in his breast. He was on his 
way to the ISTore, where the Great Eastern lay, like 
an antediluvian macaroni-eater, gorging itself with 
innumerable miles of Atlantic Cable. 

To say truth, Eobin's breast — capacious though 
it was for his size — could hardly contain his heart 
that day. The dream of his childhood was about to 
be realised ! He had thirsted for knowledge. He 
had acquired all that was possible in his father's 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 43 

limited circumstances. He had, moreover, with the 
valuable assistance of Sam Shipton, become deeply 
learned in electrical science. He had longed with 
all his heart to become an electrician — quite ready, 
if need were, to commence as sweeper of a telegraph- 
office, but he had come to regard his desires as too 
ambitious, and, accepting his lot in life with the 
quiet contentment taught him by his mother, had 
entered on a clerkship in a mercantile house, and had 
perched himself, with a little sigh no doubt, yet 
cheerfully, on the top of a three-legged stool. To 
this stool he had been so long attached — physically 
— that he had begun to regard it almost as part and 
parcel of himself, and had made up his mind that he 
would have to stick to it through life. He even 
sometimes took a quaint view of the matter, and tried 
to imagine that through long habit it would stick to 
him at last, and oblige him to carry it about sticking 
straight out behind him ; perhaps even require him 
to take it to bed with him, in which case he some- 
times tried to imagine what w^ould be the precise 
effect on the bedclothes if he were to turn from one 
side to the other. Thus had his life been projected 
in grey perspective to his mental eye. 

But now — he actually was an electrician-elect ; 
on his way to join the biggest ship in the world, to 
aid in laying the greatest telegraph cable in the 
world, in company with some of the greatest men 



44 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



in the universe ! It was almost too mucli for Lim. 
He thirsted for sympathy. He wanted to let off his 
feelings in a cheer, but life in a lunatic asylum 
presented itself, and he refrained. There was a 
rough-looking sailor lad about his own age, but 
much bigger, on the seat opposite (it was a third 
class). He thought of pouring out his feelings on 
him — but prudence prevented. There is no saying 
what might have been the result, figuratively speak- 
ing, to his boiler if the sailor lad had not of his own 
accord opened a safety-valve. 

"You seems pretty bobbish this morning, young 
feller," he said, after contemplating his vis-a-vis for 
a long time in critical silence. " Bin an' took too 
much, eh?" 

"I beg your pardon," said Eobin, somewhat 
puzzled. 

" You 're pritty considerable jolly, I say," returned 
the lad, who had an honest, ugly face, and was 
somewhat blunt and gruff in manner, 

" I am indeed very jolly," said Eobin, with a 
bland smile, " for I 'm going to help to lay the great 
Atlantic Cable." 

" Wot 's that you say ? " demanded the lad, with 
sudden animation. 

Eobin repeated his remark. 

" "Well, now, that is a go ! Why, I 'm goin' to 
help lay the great Atlantic Cable too. I'm one o' 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



45 



the stooard's boys. What may you be, young 
feller ?" 

" Me ? Oh ! I'm— I— why, I'm on the electrical 
staff. I 'm " — he thought of the word secretary, but 
a feeling of modesty induced him to say — " assistant 
to one of the electricians." 

" Which un ? " demanded the lad curtly. 

" Mr. Smith." 

"Mr. Smith, eh 1 Well— it ain't an unusual 
name — Smith ain't. P'r'aps you '11 condescend on 
his first name, for there 's no less than three Smiths 
among the electricians. 

" Ebenezer Smith, I believe," said Eobin. 

" Ebbysneezer Smith — eh ? well, upon my word 
that's a Smith-mixtur that I've never heerd on 
before. I don't know 'im, but he's all right, I 
dessay. They 're a rum lot altogether." 

Whether this compliment was meant for the great 
Smith family in general, or the electrical branch in 
particular, Eobin could not guess, and did not like 
to ask. Having thus far opened his heart, however, 
he began to pour out its contents, and found that 
the ugly sailor lad was a much more sympathetic 
soul than he had been led to expect from his looks. 
Having told his own name, he asked that of his 
companion in return. 

" My name— oh ! it 's Slagg — Jim Slagg ; James 
when you wants to be respeckful— Slagg when 



46 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



familiar, I 'm the son o' Jim Slagg, senior. Who 
he was the son of is best known to them as under- 
stands the science of jinnylology. But it don't 
much matter, for we all runs back to Adam an' 
Eve somehow. They called me after father, of 
course ; but to make a distinction they calls him 
Jimmy — bein' more respeckfal-like, — and me Jim. 
It ain't a name much to boast of, but I wouldn't 
change it with you, young feller, though Eobert 
ain't a bad name neither. It's pretty well known, 
you see, an' that 's somethin'. Then, it 's bin bore 
by great men. Let me think — wasn't there a 
Eobert the Great once?" 

" I fear not," said Eobin ; " he is yet in the womb 
of Time." 

" Ah, well, no matter ; but there should have bin 
a Eobert the Great before now. Anyhow, there 
was Eobert the Bruce — he was a king, warn't he, 
an' a skull-cracker? Then there was Eobert 
Stephenson, the great engineer — he 's livin' yet ; 
an' there was Eobert the — the Devil, but I raither 
fear he must have bin a bad 'un, he must, so we 
won't count him. Of course, they gave you another 
name, for short — ; ah, Eobin! I thought so. 
Well, that ain't a bad name neither. There was 
Eobin Hood, you know, what draw'd the long-bow 
a deal better than the worst penny-a-liner as ever 
mended a quill. An' there was a Eobin Goodfellow, 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



47 



though I don't rightly remember who he was 
exactly," 

"One of Shakespeare's characters," interposed 
Eobin. 

"Jus' so — well, he couldn't have bin a bad fel- 
low, you know. Then, as to your other name, 
Wright— that 's all right, you know, and might have 
bin writer if you 'd taken to the quill or the law. 
Anyhow, as long as you 're Wright, of course you 
can't be wrong — eh, young feller ?" 

Jim Slagg was so tickled with this sudden sally 
that he laughed, and in so doing shut his little eyes, 
and opened an enormous mouth, fully furnished 
with an unbroken set of splendid teeth. 

Thus pleasantly did Eobin while away the time 
with his future shipmate until he arrived at the 
end of his journey, when he parted from Jim 
Slagg and was met by Ebenezer Smith. 

That energetic electrician, instead of at once 
taking him on board the Great Eastern, took him 
to a small inn, where he gave him his tea and put 
him through a rather severe electrical examination, 
out of which our anxious hero emerged with 
credit. 

" You '11 do, Eobin," said his examiner, who was 
a free-and-easy yet kindly electrician, "but you 
want instruction in many things." 

"Indeed I do, sir," said Eobin, "for I have had' 



« 



48 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



no regular education in the science, but I hope, if 
you direct me what to study, that I shall improve." 

"ISTo doubt you will, my boy. Meanwhile, as 
the big ship won't be ready to start for some time, 
I want you to go to the works of the Telegraph Con- 
struction and Maintenance Company, see the mak- 
ing of the cable, learn all you can, and write me a 
careful account of all that you see and all that you 
think about it." 

Eobin could not repress a smile. 

" Why, boy, what are you laughing at?" demanded 
Mr. Smith, somewhat sternly, 

Eobin blushed deep scarlet as he replied — 

" Pardon me, sir, but you said I am to write 
down all that I thinh about it." 

"Well, what then?" 

" I — I 'm afraid, sir," stammered Eobin, " that if 
I write down all I tlmih about the Atlantic Cable, 
as well as all that I see, I shall require a very long 
time indeed, and a pretty large volume." 

Mr. Smith gazed at our hero for some time with 
uplifted brows, then he shook his head slowly and 
frowned, then he nodded it slightly and smiled. 
After that he laughed, or rather chuckled, and 
said — 

" Well, you may go now, and do what I have told 
you — only omitting most of what you think. A 
small portion of that will suffice ! Don't hurry 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



49 



back. Go home and make a fair copy of your 
observations and — thoughts. I'll write when I 
require you. Stay — your address ? Ah ! I have it 
in my note-book. What 's your first name, Mister 
Wright?" 

Eobin grew two inches taller, or more, on the 
spot ; he had never been called Mister before, 
except in jest ! 

" Eobert, sir," he replied. 

"Eobert— ha! h'm ! I'll call you Bob. I 
never could stand ceremony, so you'll accustom 
yourself to the new name as quickly as you can — 
but perhaps it 's not new to you ?" 

''Please, sir, I've been used to Eobin; if you 
have no objection, I should — " 

"Xo objection — of course not," interrupted Mr. 
Smith ; " Eobin will do quite as well, though a little 
longer; but that's no matter. Good-bye, Eobin, 
and — and — don't think too hard. It sometimes 
hurts digestion ; good-bye." 

" Well, what d'ee think of Ebbysneezer Smith, my 
electrical toolip?" asked Jim Slagg, whom Eobin 
encountered again at the station. " He 's a wiry 
subject, I s'pose, like the rest of 'em ?" 

" He 's a very pleasant gentleman," answered 
Eobin warmly. 

" Oh, of coorse he is. All the Smiths are so — more 
or less. They're a glorious family. I knows at 

D 



50 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



least half a dozen of 'em in what superfine people 
call the ' slums ' of London." 

"And I know more than half a dozen of 'em," 
retorted Kobin, somewhat sharply, "in what un- 
refined people call the ^aristocracy of London." 

"Whew !" whistled Mister Slagg, gazing at Kobin 
in silent surprise. 

What the whistle implied was not explained at 
that time, because the locomotive whistle took up 
the tune with intense violence, causing a rush to 
the train, in which the two lads — like many other 
friends — were abruptly parted for a season. 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 61 



CHAPTEE VI. 

TELLS OP OUR HERo's VISIT TO THE GREAT CABLE. 

EoBiN Wright returned home with a bounding 
heart. Since his electrical appointment he had 
become, figuratively speaking, an indiarubber ball 
—a sort of human " squash." His heart bounded ; 
his feet bounded ; if his head had fallen off it also 
would have bounded, no doubt. 

On arriving he found his father's elder brother — - 
a retired sea-captain of the merchant service — on a 
visit to the family. 

There was not a more favourite uncle in the 
kingdom than uncle Rik — thus had his name of 
Eichard been abbreviated by the Wright family. 
Uncle Eik was an old bachelor, and as bald as a 
baby — more so than many babies. He was good- 
humoured and liberal-hearted, but a settled un- 
believer in the world's progress. He idolised the 
*'good old times," and quite pleasantly scorned the 
" present." 

So, so, Eobin," he said, grasping our hero by 



52 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



both hands (and uncle Eik's grasp was no joke), 
" you 're goin' in for batteries — galvanic batteries 
an' wires, are you ? Well, lad, I always thought you 
more or less of a fool, but I never thought you 
such a born idiot as that comes to." 

"Yes, uncle," said Robin, with a pleasant laugh, 
for he was used to the old captain's plain language, 
" I 'm going to be an electrician." 

" Bah ! pooh ! — an electrician ! " exclaimed uncle 
Eik with vehemence, " as well set up for a magician 
at once." 

" Indeed he won't be far short of that," said Mrs. 
Wright, who was seated at the tea-table with her 
husband and Madge — " at least," she added, " if all 
be true that we hear of this wonderful science." 

"If only half of it be true," interjected Mr. 
Wright. 

" But it ain't true," said Captain Eik firmly. 
" They talk a deal of stuff about it, more than 
nine-tenths of which is lies — pure fable. I don't 
believe in electricity; more than that, I don't 
believe in steam. Batteries and boilers are both 
bosh!" 

" But, uncle, you can't deny that they exist," said 
Eobin 

" Of course not," replied the captain. " I know 
as well as you do— maybe better— that there 's a 
heap o' telegraph-wires rove about the world like 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



53 



great spiders' webs, and that there are steamboats 
bummin' an' buzzin' — ay, an' bu'stin' too — all over 
the ocean, like huge wasps, an' a pretty mess they 
make of it too among them ! Why, there was a 
poor old lady the other day that was indooced by a 
young nephy to send a telegraphic message to her 
husband in Manchester — she bein' in London. She 
was very unwillin' to do it, bein' half inclined to 
regard the telegraph as a plant from the lower 
regions. The message sent was, ' Your lovin' wife 
hopes you '11 be home to-morrow.' It reached the 
husband, ' Your lowerin' wife hopes you '11 be hung 
to-morrow.' Bad writin' and a useless flourish at 
the e turned liom& into hung. The puzzled husband 
telegraphs in reply, ' Mistake somewhere — all right 
— shall be back three o'clock — to-morrow — kind 
love.' And how d'ye think this reached the old 
lady? — ' Mistake somewhere — all night — stabbed in 
back— through cloak — two more rows — killed, love.' 
Now, d'you call that successful telegraphing?" 

" Not very," admitted Eobin, with a laugh, " but 
of the thousands of messages that pass to and fro 
daily there cannot be many like these, I should 
think." 

" But what did the poor wife do ?" asked Madge 
anxiously. 

" Do?" repeated Eik indignantly, as though the 
misfortune were his own — for he was a very sym- 



54 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 



pathetic captain — " do ? Why, she gave a yell that 
nigh knocked the young nephy out of his reason, 
and fell flat on the floor. When she came to, she 
bounced up, bore away for the railway station under 
full sail, an' shipped for Manchester, where she 
found her husband, alive and hearty, pitchin' into a 
huge beefsteak, which he very properly said, after 
recovering from his first surprise, was big enough 
for two." 

" But what objection have you to steamers, uncle 
Eik ?" asked Mrs. Wright; "I'm sure they are very 
comfortable and fast-going." 

" Comfortable and fast-goin' !" repeated the old 
sailor, with a look of supreme contempt, "yes, they're 
comfortable enough when your berth ain't near the 
paddles or the boilers ; an' they 're fast-goin', no 
doubt, specially when they bu'st. But ain't the 
nasty things made of iron — like kitchen kettles? 
and won't that rust ? an' if you knock a hole in 'em 
won't they go down at once ? an' if you clap too 
much on the safety-valves won't they go up at once? 
Bah ! pooh ! — there 's nothin' like the wooden walls 
of old England. You may take the word of an 
old salt for it, — them wooden walls will float and 
plough the ocean when all these new-fangled iron 
pots are sunk or blowed to atoms. Why, look at 
the Great Eastern herself, the biggest kettle of 'eni 
all, what a precious mess she made of herself ! All 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 55 

first she wouldn't move at all, when they tried to 
launch her ; then they had to shove her off sidewise 
like a crab ; then she lost her rudder in a gale, an' 
smashed all her cabin furniture like a bad boy with 
his toys. Bah ! I only hope I may be there when 
she bu'sts, for it '11 be a grand explosion." 

" I 'm sorry you have so bad an opinion of her, 
uncle, for I am appointed to serve in the Great 
Eastern while layin' the Atlantic Cable." 

" Sorry to hear it, lad ; very sorry to hear it. Of 
course I hope for your sake that she won't blow 
up on this voyage, though it 's nothin' more or less 
than an absurd ship goin' on a wild-goose chase." 

" But, uncle, submarine cables have now passed 
the period of experiment," said Eobin, coming 
warmly to the defence of his favourite subject. 
" Just consider, from the time the first one was laid, 
in 1851, between Dover and Calais, till now, about 
fifteen years, many thousands of miles of conducting- 
wire have been laid along the bottom of the sea to 
many parts of the world, and they are in full and 
successful operation at this moment. Why, even 
in 1858, when the first Atlantic Cable was laid, the 
Gutta-percha Company had made forty-four sub- 
marine cables." 

" I know it, lad, but it won't last. It 's all sure 
to bu'st up in course of time." 
, " Then, though the attempt to lay the last Atlantic 



56 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



Cable proved a failure," continued Eobin, " the first 
one, the 1858 one, was a success at the beginning, 
no one can deny that." 

"Ay, but how long did it last V demanded the 
skipper, hitting the table with his fist. 

" Oh, please, have pity on the tea-cups, uncle 
Eik/' cried the hostess. 

" Beg pardon, sister, but I can't help getting riled 
when I hear younkers talkin' stuff. Why, do you 
really suppose," said the captain, turning again to 
Eobin, "that because they managed in '58 to lay a 
cable across the Atlantic, and exchange a few mes- 
sages, which refused to travel after a few days, that 
they'll succeed in layin' down a permanent speakin'- 
trumpet between old England and ISToof nland — 
2000 miles, more or less — in spite o' gales an' 
currents, an' ships' anchors, an' insects, an' icebergs 
an' whales, to say nothing o' great sea-sarpints an' 
suchlike?" 

"Uncle Eik, I do," said Eobin, with intensely 
earnest eyes and glowing cheeks. 

" Bravo ! Eobin, you '11 do it, I do believe, if it is 
to be done at all ; give us your hand, lad," 

The old sailor's red countenance beamed with a 
huge smile of kindness as he shook his enthusiastic 
nephew's hand. 

There," he added, " I '11 not say another word 
against iron kettles or Atlantic cables. If you 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



57 



succeed I'll give batteries and boilers full credit, 
but if you fail I '11 not forget to remind you that I 
said it would all bu'st up in course of time." 

With note-book and pencil in hand Eobin went 
down the very next day to the works of the Tele- 
graph Construction and Maintenance Company, 
where the great cable was being made. 

Presenting his letter of introduction from Mr. 
Smith, Eobin was conducted over the premises by 
a clerk, who, under the impression that he was a 
very youthful and therefore unusually clever news- 
paper correspondent, treated him with marked re- 
spect. This was a severe trial to Eobin's modesty ; 
nevertheless he bore up manfully, and pulling out 
his note-book prepared for action. 

The reader need not fear that we intend to inflict 
on him Eobin's treatise on what he styled the 
" Great Atlantic Cable," but it would be wrong to 
leave the subject without recording a few of those 
points which made a deep impression on him. 

" The cable when completed, sir," said the clerk, 
as he conducted his visitor to the factory, will be 
2300 nautical miles in length." 

"Indeed," said Eobin, recording the statement 
with solemn gravity and great accuracy; "but I 
thought," he added, " that the exact distance from 
Ireland to E"ewfoundland was only 1600 miles." 

" You are right, sir, but we allow 700 miles of 



58 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



* slack ' for the inequalities of the bottom. Its cost 
will be £700,000, and the whole when finished will 
weigh 7000 tons." 

Poor Eobin's mind had, of course, been informed 
about ton- weights at school, but he had not felt 
that he realised what they actually signified until 
the thought suddenly occurred that a cart-load of 
coals weighed one ton, whereupon 7000 carts of 
coals leaped suddealy into the field of his bewildered 
fancy. A slightly humorous tendency, inherited 
from his mother, induced 7000 drivers, with 7000 
whips and a like number of smock-frocks, to mount 
the carts and drive in into the capacious hold of the 
Great Eastern. They turned, however, and drove 
instantly off his brain when he came into the 
august presence of the cable itself 

The central core of the cable — that part by which 
the electric force or fluid was to pass from the Old 
World to the JSTew, and vice versa, was made of 
copper. It was not a solid, single wire, but a strand 
composed of seven fine wires, each about the thick- 
ness of a small pin. Six of these wires were wound 
spirally round the seventh. This was in order to 
prevent what is termed a " breach of continuity," 
for it will be at once perceived that while a single 
wire of the core might easily break in the process 
of laying the cable, and thereby prevent the flow 
of electricity, the probability of the seven small 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



59 



wires all breaking at the same spot was so remote 
as to be almost impossible, and if even one wire 
ont of the seven held, the continuity would remain. 
Nay, even all the seven might break, but, so long 
as they did not all break at the same place, con- 
tinuity would not be lost, because copper would 
still continue to touch copper all throughout the 
cable's length. 

In the process of construction, the central wire 
of the copper core was first covered with a semi- 
liquid coating of gutta-percha, mixed with tar — 
known as " Chatterton's Compound." This was 
laid on so thick that when the other wires were 
wound round it all air was excluded. Then a coat- 
ing of the same compound was laid over the finished 
conductor, and thus the core was solidified. Next, 
the core was surrounded with a coating of the 
purest gutta-percha — a splendid non-conductor, im- 
pervious to water — which, when pressed to it, while 
in a plastic state, formed the first insulator or tube 
to the core. Over this tube was laid a thin coat of 
Chatterton's Compound for the purpose of closing 
up any small flaws or minute holes that might have 
escaped detection. Then came a second coating of 
gutta-percha, followed by another coating of com- 
pound, and so on alternately until four coats 
of compound and four of gutta-percha had been 
laid on. 



60 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



This core, when completed, was wound in lengths 
on large reels, and was then submerged in water 
and subjected to a variety of severe electrical tests 
so as to bring it as near as possible to a state of 
perfection, after which every inch of it was ex- 
amined by hand while being unwound from the 
reels and re- wound on the large drums on which it 
was to be forwarded to the covering works at East 
Greenwich, there to receive its external protecting 
sheath. 

All this, and much more besides, did Eobin 
Wright carefully note down, and that same evening 
went home and delivered a long and luminous lecture, 
over which his mother wondered, Madge rejoiced, 
his father gloried, and uncle Eik fell asleep. 

ISText day he hastened to the covering works, 
and, presenting his credentials, was admitted. 

Here he saw the important and delicate core 
again carefully tested as to its electrical condition, 
after which it received a new jacket of tanned jute 
yarn to protect it from the iron top coat yet to 
come. Its jute jacket on, it was then coiled away 
in tanks full of water, where it was constantly kept 
submerged and continuously tested for insulation. 
Last of all the top coat was put on. This consisted 
of ten wires of peculiarly fine and strong iron. Each 
of these ten wires had put on it a special coat of 
its own, made of tarred Manilla yarn, to protect it 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



61 



from rust as well as to lighten its specific gravity. 
The core being brought from its tank, and passed 
round several sheaves, which carried it below the 
factory floor, was drawn up through a hole in the 
centre of a circular table, around the circumference 
of which were ten drums of the Manilla-covered 
wire. A stout iron rod, fastened to the circum- 
ference of the table, rose from between each drum 
to the ceiling, converging in a cone which passed 
through to the floor above. Our core rose in the 
middle of all, and went through the hollow of the 
cone. When all was put in noisy and bewildering 
motion, the core which rose from the turning-table 
and whirling drums as a thin jute-clad line, came 
out in the floor above a stout iron-clad cable, with a 
Manilla top-dressing, possessing strength sufficient to 
bear eleven miles of its own length perpendicularly 
suspended in water—or a margin of strength more 
than four and a half times that required,— and with a 
breaking strain of seven tons fifteen hundredweight. 

When thoroughly charged and primed, Eobin 
went off home to write his treatise. 

Then he received the expected summons to repair 
on board the Great Eastern, and bade adieu to his 
early home. 

It was of no use that Eobin tried to say good- 
bye in a facetious way, and told Madge and his 
mother not to cry, saying that he was only going 



62 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



across the Atlantic, a mere fish-pond, and that he 
would be home again in a month or two. Ah ! 
these little efforts at deception never avail. Him- 
self broke down while urging Madge to behave 
herself, and when his mother gave him a small 
Bible, and said she req^uired no promise, for she 
knew he would treasure and read it, he was obliged 
hastily to give her a last fervent hug, and rush 
from the house without saying good-bye at all. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



63 



CHAPTEE VII. 

THE BIG SHIP — FIRST NIGHT ABOAED. 

When our hero at last reached the Great Eastern, 
he soon found himself in what may he termed a 
lost condition. At first he was disappointed, for 
he saw her at a distance, and it is well known that 
distance lends deception as well as " enchantment 
to the view," Arrived alongside, however, he felt 
as if he had suddenly come under the walls of a 
great fortress or city. 

Presently he stood on the deck of the Big Ship, 
as its familiars called it, and, from that moment, 
for several days, was, as we have said, in a lost 
condition. He was lost in wonder, to begin with, 
as he gazed at the interminable length and breadth 
of planking styled the deck, and the forest of 
funnels, masts, and rigging, and the amazing per- 
spective, which caused men at the further end from 
where he stood to look like dolls. 

Then he was lost in reality, when he went below 
and had to ask his way as though he were wandering 



64 THE BATTERY AND TEE BOILEE. 

in the labyrinths of a great city. He felt — or 
thought he felt — like a mere mite in the mighty 
vessel. Soon he lost his old familiar powers of 
comparison and contrast, and ere long he lost his 
understanding altogether, for he fell down one of 
the hatchways into a dark abyss, where he would 
probably have ended his career with electric 
speed if he had not happily fallen into the arms of 
a human being, with whom he rolled and bumped 
affectionately, though painfully, to the bottom of the 
stair. 

The human being, growled intense disapprobation 
during the process, and Eobin fancied that the voice 
was familiar. 

" Come, I say," said the being, remonstratively, 
"this is altogether too loving, you know. Don't 
squeeze quite so tight, young 'un, whoever you be." 

" Oh, I heg your pardon," gasped Eobin, relaxing 
his grasp when they stopped rolling ; "I 'm so sorry. 
I hope I haven't hurt yon." 

" Hurt me !" laughed Jim Slagg, for it was 
he ; " no, you small electrician, you 'aven't got 
battery-power enough to do me much damage ; but 
what d' ye mean by it ? Is this the way to meet 
an old friend ? Is it right for a Wright to go 
wrong at the wery beginnin' of his career? But 
come, I forgive you. Have you been introdooced 
to Capting Anderson yet ?" 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



65 



"IsTo; who is he ?" 

" Who is he ? you ignorant crokidile ! why, he 's 
the capting of the Great Eastern, the commander o' 
the Big Ship, the Great Mogul o' the quarter-deck, 
the king o' the expedition. But, of course, you 
'aven't bin introdooced to him. He don't associate 
much with small fry like us — more 's the pity, for 
it might do 'im good. But come, I'll take you 
under my wing for the present, because your par- 
tikler owner, Ebbysneezer Smith, ain't come aboard 
yet — ashore dissipatin', I suppose, — an' every- 
body 's so busy gettin' ready to start that nobody 
will care to be bothered with you, so come 
along." 

There was some truth in this eccentric youths' 
remarks, for in the bustle of preparation for an early 
start every one on board seemed to be so thoroughly 
engrossed with his own duty that he had no time 
to attend to anything else, and Eobin had begun to 
experience, in the absence of his "partikler owner," 
an uneasy sensation of being very much in people's 
way. As he felt strangely attracted by the off-hand 
good-humoured impudence of his new friend, he 
consented to follow him, and was led to a small 
apartment, somewhere in the depths of the mighty 
ship, in which several youths, not unlike Slagg, 
were romping. They had, indeed, duties to perform 
like the rest, but the moment chanced to be with 

E 



66 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



them a brief period of relaxation, which they devoted 
to skylarking. 

"Hallo ! who have you got here?" demanded a 
large clumsy youth, knocking off Slagg's cap as he 
asked the question. 

"Come, Stumps, don't you be cheeky," said 
Slagg, quietly picking up his cap and putting it on; 
" this is a friend o' mine — one o' the electricians, — 
so you needn't try to shock his feelin's, for he can. 
give better than he gets. He 's got no berth yet, 
so I brought him here to show him hospitality." 

"Oh, indeed," said Mr. Stumps, bowing with 
mock respect; then, turning to the comrade with 
whom he had been skylarking, " Here, Jeff, supply 
this gentleman with food." 

Jeff, entering into Stumps' humour, immediately 
brought a plate of broken ship-biscuit with a can 
of water, and set them on the table before Eobin. 
Our hero, who had never been accustomed to much 
jesting, took the gift in earnest, thanked Jeff 
heartily, and, being hungry, set to work with a will 
upon the simple fare, while Stumps and Jeff looked 
at each other and winked. 

" Come, I can add something to improve that 
feast," said Slagg, drawing a piece of cheese from 
his pocket, and setting it before his friend. 

Eobin thanked him, and was about to take the 
cheese when Stumps snatched it up, and ran out 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER, 



67 



of the room with it, laughing coarsely as he 
went. 

"The big bully" growled Slagg; "it's quite 
obvious to me that feller will have to be brought 
to his marrow-bones afore long." 

"iTever mind," said Jeff, who was of a more 
amiable spirit than Stumps, "here's more o' the 
same sort." He took another piece of cheese from 
a shelf as he spoke, and gave it to Eobin. 

"Now, my young toolip," said Slagg, "havin' 
ffnished your feed, p'r'aps you 'd like to see over 
the big ship." 

With great delight Eobin said that he should 
like nothing better, and, being led forth, was soon 
lost a second time in wonderment. 

Of what use was it that Slagg told him the 
Great Eastern was 692 feet long by 83 feet broad, 
and 70 feet deep? If he had said yards instead 
of feet it would have been equally instructive 
to Eobin in his then mentally lost condition. 
ISTeither was it of the slightest use to be told that 
the weight of the big ship's cargo, including cable, 
tanks, and coals, was 21,000 tons. 

But reason began to glimmer again when Slagg 
told him that the tv,o largest vessels afloat could 
not contain, in a convenient position for passing 
out, the 2700 miles then coiled in the three tanks 
of the Great Eastern. 



68 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" This is the main tank/' said Slagg, leading his 
friend to a small platform that hung over a black 
and apparently unfathomable gulf. 

" I see nothing at all/' said Eobin, stretching his 
head cautiously forward and gazing down into dark- 
ness profound, while he held on tight to a rail. 
" How curious ! — when I look down everything 
in this wonderful ship seems to have no bottom, 
and when I look up, nothing appears to have any 
top, while, if I look backward or forward things 
seem to have no end ! Ah ! I see something now. 
Coming in from the light prevented me at first. 
Why, it 's like a huge circus !" 

" Yes, it on'y wants bosses an' clowns to make 
it all complete," said Slagg. "Now, that tank is 
68 feet 6 inches in diameter, and 20 feet 6 inches 
deep, an' holds close upon 900 miles of cable. 
There are two other tanks not much smaller, all 
choke-full. An' the queer thing is, that they can 
telegraph through all its length now, at this moment 
as it lies there, — an' they are doing so continually 
to make sure that all 's right." 

" Oh ! I understand that" said Eobin quickly; 
" I have read all about the laying of the first cable 
in 1858. It is the appearance of things in this 
great ship that confounds me." 

" Come along then, and I '11 confound you a little 
more," said Slagg. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



69 



He accordingly led his friend from one part of 
the ship to another, explaining and commenting 
as he went, and certainly Eobin's wonder did not 
decrease. 

From the grand saloon — which was like a palatial 
drawing-room, in size as well as in gorgeous furni- 
ture — to the mighty cranks and boilers of its 
engines, everything in and about the ship was 
calculated to amaze. As Slagg justly remarked, 
"It was stunnin'." 

When our hero was saturated with the "Big 
Ship " till he could hold no more, his friend took 
him back to his berth, and left him there for a time 
to his meditations. 

Eeturning soon after, he sat down on a locker, 

" I say, Eobin Wright," he began, thrusting his 
hands into his trousers-pockets, " it looks a'most as 
if I had smuggled you aboard of this ship like a 
stowaway. Nobody seems to know you are here, 
an' what 's more, nobody seems to care. Your 
partikler owner ain't turned up yet, an' it's my 
opinion he won't turn up to-night, so I 've spoke 
to the stooard — he 's my owner, you know — an' he 
says you 'd better just turn into my berth to-night, 
an' you 11 get showed into your own to-morrow," 

" But where will you sleep ? " asked Eobin, with 
some hesitation. 

" Never you mind that, my young electrician. 



70 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



That's my business. What you've got to do is to 
turn in." 

Jeff and another lad, who were preparing to 
retire for the night at the time, laughed at this, 
but Kobin paid no attention, thanked his friend, 
and said that as he was rather tired he would 
accept his kind offer. 

Thereafter, pulling out the small Bible which he 
had kept in his pocket since leaving home, he went 
into a corner, read a few verses, and then knelt 
down to pray. 

The surprise of the other lads was expressed in 
their eyes, but they said nothing. 

Just then the door opened, and the lad named 
Stumps entered. Catching sight of Eobin on his 
knees he opened his eyes wide, pursed his mouth, 
and gave a low whistle. Then he went up to Eobin 
and gave him a slight kick. Supposing that it was 
an accident, Kobin did not move, but on receiving 
another and much more decided kick he rose and 
turned round. At the same moment Stumps 
received a resounding and totally unexpected slap 
on the cheek from Jim Slagg, who planted himself 
before him with clenched fists and flashing eyes. 

" What d' ye mean by interferin' wi' my friend at 
his dewotions, you monkey-faced polypus ?" he 
demanded fiercely. 

The monkey-faced polypus replied not a word. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



71 



but delivered a right-hander that might have felled 
a small horse, Jim Slagg however was prepared 
for that. He turned his head neatly to one side so 
as to let the blow pass, and at the same moment 
planted his knuckles on the bridge of his opponent's 
nose and sent him headlong into Jeff's bunk, which 
lay conveniently behind. Jumping furiously out 
of that, and skinning his shins in the act. Stumps 
rushed at Slagg, who, leaping lightly aside, tripped 
him up and gave him a smack on the left ear as he 
passed, by way of keeping him lively. 

Unsubdued by this, Stumps gathered himself up 
and made a blind rush at his adversary, but was 
abruptly stopped by what Jeff called a "dab" 
on the nose. Eepeating the rush, Stumps was 
staggered by a plunging blow on the forehead, and 
he paused to breathe, gazing the while at his foe, 
who, though a smaller youth than himself, was quite 
as strong. 

" If you 've had enough, monkey-face," said Slagg, 
with a bland smile, " don't hesitate to say so, an' 
I'll shake hands ; but if you'd prefer a little more 
before goin' to bed, just let me know, and — " 

Slagg here performed some neat and highly 
suggestive motions with his fists by way of finishing 
the sentence. 

Evidently Stumps wanted more, for, after a brief 
pause, he again rushed at Slagg, who, stepping aside 



72 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



like a Spanish matador, allowed his foe to expend 
his wrath on the bulkhead of the cabin. 

" You'll go through it next time, Stumps, if you 
plunge like that," said Jeff, who had watched the 
fight with lively interest, and had encouraged the 
combatants with sundry marks of applause, besides 
giving them much gratuitous advice. 

Eegardless alike of encouragement and advice, the 
angry youth turned round once more and received 
a buffet that sent him sprawling on the table, off 
which he fell and rolled under it. There he lay 
and panted. 

" Now, my sweet polypus," said the victor, going 
down on one knee and patting the vanquished on 
his shoulder, " next time you feels tempted to kick 
a gentleman — specially a electrician — at his dewo- 
tions, think of Jim Slagg an' restrain yourself. I 
bear you no ill-will however — so, good-night." 

Saying this, Eobin's champion left the room and 
Stumps retired to his berth growling. 

Before passing from this subject, we may add 
that, the next night, Eobin — whose owner was still 
absent — was again hospitably invited to share the 
cabin of his friend and protector. When about to 
retire to rest he considered whether it was advisable 
to risk the repetition of the scene of the previous 
night, and, although not quite easy in his conscience 
about it, came to the conclusion that it would be 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



73 



well to say his prayers in bed. Accordingly, he 
crept quietly into his berth and lay down, but Jim 
Slagg, who was present, no sooner saw what he was 
about than he jumped up with a roar of indigna- 
tion. 

" What are you about ?" he cried, " ain't you goin' 
to say your prayers, you white-livered electrician ? 
Come, git up ! li I'm to fight, you must pray ! 
D' ye hear ? Turn out, I say." 

With that he seized Eobin, dragged him out of 
bed, thrust him on his knees, and bade him do his 
"dooty." 

At first Eobin's spirit rose in rebellion, but a 
sense of shame at his moral cowardice, and a per- 
ception of the justice of his friend's remark, subdued 
him. He did pray forthwith, though what the 
nature of his prayer was we have never been able 
to ascertain, and do not care to guess. The lesson, 
however, was not lost. From that date forward 
Eobin Wright was no longer ashamed or afraid to 
be seen in the attitude of prayer. 



74 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



CHAPTEE VIIL 

LAYim THE CABLE — "FAULTS" AND FAULT-FINDING— ANXIETIES, 
ACCIDENTS, AND OTHER MATTERS. 

Come with us now, good reader, to another and 
very different scene — out upon the boundless sea. 
The great Atlantic is asleep, but his breast heaves 
gently and slowly like that of a profound sleeper. 

The Great Eastern looks like an island on the 
water — steady as a rock, obedient only to the rise 
and. fall of the ocean swell, as she glides along at 
the rate of six knots an hour. All is going well. 
The complicated-looking paying-out machinery re- 
volves smoothly; the thread-like cable passes 
over the stern, and down into the deep with the 
utmost regularity. 

The shore-end of the cable — twenty-seven miles 
in length, and much thicker than, the deep-sea 
portion — had been laid at Valentia, on the 2 2d 
of July, amid prayer and praise, speech-making, 
and much enthusiasm, on the part of operators 
and spectators. On the 23d, the end of the shore 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



75 



cable was spliced to that of the main cable, and 
the voyage had begun. 

The first night had passed quietly, and upwards of 
eighty miles of the cable had gone out of the after- 
tank, over the big ship's stern, and down to its ocean 
bed, when Eobin Wright — unable to sleep — quietly 
slipped into his clothes, and went on deck. It was 
drawing near to dawn, A knot of electricians and 
others were chatting in subdued tones about the 
one subject that filled the minds of all in the ship. 

" What ! unable to sleep, like the rest of us ?" 
said Ebenezer Smith, accosting Eobin as he reached 
the deck. 

" Yes, sir," said Eobin, with a sleepy smile, " I 've 
been thinking of the cable so much that I took to 
dreaming about it when I fell asleep, and it sud- 
denly turned into the great sea-serpent, and choked 
me to' such an extent that I awoke, and then 
thought it better to get up and have a look at it." 

" Ah ! my boy, you are not the only one whom 
the cable won't let sleep. It will be well looked 
after during the voyage, for there are two sets of 
electricians aboard — all of them uncommonly wide 
awake — one set representing the Telegraph Con- 
struction and Maintenance Company, under M. de 
Sauty; the other set representing the Atlantic 
Telegraph Company, under Mr. Varley and Pro- 
fessor Thomson. The former are to test the elec- 



76 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



trical state of the cable, and to keep up signals with 
the shore every hour, night and day, during the 
voyage, while the latter are to watch and report as 
to whether the cable fulfils her conditions, as speci- 
fied in the contract. So you see the smallest fault 
or hitch will be observed at once." 

"Do you mean, sir," asked Eobin in surprise, 
" that telegraphing with the shore is to be kept up 
continually all the voyage ?" 

"Yes, my boy, I do," answered Smith. "The 
lengths of the cable in the three tanks are joined 
up into one length, and telegraphing — for the pur- 
pose of testing it — has been kept up with the shore 
without intermission from the moment we left 
Ireland, and began to pay out. It will be continued, 
if all goes well, until we land the other end in 
ISTewfoundland. The tests are threefold, — first, for 
insulation, which, as you know, means the sound- 
ness and perfection of the gutta-percha covering that 
prevents the electricity from escaping from the wires, 
through the sea, into the earth ; secondly, for con- 
tinuity, or the unbroken condition of the conductor 
or copper core throughout its whole length; and, 
thirdly, to determine the resistance of the conductor, 
by which is meant its objection to carry our mes- 
sages without vigorous application of the spur in 
the form of increased electrical power in our bat- 
teries. You see, Eobin, every message sent to us 



I 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE, 77 

from the shore, as well as every message sent by us 
in reply, has to travel through the entire length of 
the cable, namely about 2400 miles, and as every 
mile of distance increases this unwillingness, or re- 
sistance, we have to increase the electrical power in 
the batteries in proportion to the distance to which 
we want to send our message. D' you understand ?" 

" I think I do, sir ; but how is the exact amount 
of resistance tested ?" 

Mr. Smith smiled as he looked at the earnest face 
of his young questioner. 

" My boy," said he, " you would require a more 
fully educated mind to understand the answer to 
that question. The subtleties of electrical science 
cannot be explained in a brief conversation. 
You 11 have to study and apply to books for full 
light on that subject. Nevertheless, although I 
cannot carry you into the subject just now, I can 
tell you something about it. You remember the 
testing-room which I showed you yesterday— the 
darkened room between the captain's state-room 
and the entrance to the grand saloon ?" 

Yes, sir, I remember it well," responded Eobin, 
— " the room into which the conducting-wires from 
the ends of the cable are led to the testing-tables, 
on which are the curious-looking galvanometers and 
other testing machines." 

"Just so," returned Smith, pleased with his 



I 



78 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



pupil's aptitude. " Well, on that table stands Pro- 
fessor Thomson's delicate and wonderful galvano- 
meter. On that instrument a ray of light, reflected 
from a tiny mirror suspended to a magnet, travels 
along a scale and indicates the resistance to the 
passage of the current along the cable by the 
deflection of the magnet, which is marked by the 
course of this speck of light. lS[ow, d' you under- 
stand that, Eobin ? " 

" I — I 'm afraid not quite, sir." 

" Well, no matter," rejoined Smith, with a laugh. 
"At all events you can understand that if that 
speck of light keeps within bounds — on its index — 
all is going well, but if it travels beyond the index 
— bolts out of bounds — an escape of the electric 
current is taking place somewhere in the cable, or 
what we call a fault has occurred." 

" Ah, indeed," exclaimed Eobin, casting a serious 
look at the cable as it rose from the after-tank, ran 
smoothly over its line of conducting wheels, dropped 
over the stern of the ship and glided into the sea 
like an an endless snake of stealthy habits. " And 
what," he added, with a sudden look of awe, "if 
the cable should break ? " 

" Why, it would go to the bottom, of course," re- 
plied Smith, " and several hearts would break along 
with it. You see these two gentlemen conversing 
near the companion-hatch ? " 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



79 



" Yes." 

" One is the chief of the electricians ; the other 
the chief of the engineers. Their hearts would 
probably break, for their position is awfully respon- 
sible. Then my heart would break, I know, for I 
feel it swelling at the horrible suggestion ; and your 
heart would break, Eobin, I think, for you are a 
sympathetic donkey, and couldn't help yourself. 
Then you see that stout man on the bridge — that 's 
Captain Anderson — well, his heart would — no — ^per- 
haps it wouldn't, for he 's a sailor, and you know a 
sailor's heart is too tough to break, but it would 
get a pretty stiff wrench. And you see that gentle- 
man looking at the paying-out gear so earnestly ?" 

" What— Cyrus Field ?" said Eobin. 

" Yes ; well, his heart and the Atlantic Cable are 
united, so as a matter of course the two would 
snap together." 

ISTow, while Smith and his young assistant were 
conversing thus facetio-scientifically, the electri- 
cians on duty in the testing-room were watching 
with silent intensity the indications on their in- 
struments. Suddenly, at 3.15 a.m., when exactly 
eighty-four miles of cable had been laid out, he 
who observed the galvanometer saw the speck of 
light glide to the end of the scale, and vanish ! 

If a speck of fire had been seen to glide through 
the keyhole of the powder magazine it could 



80 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



scarcely have created greater consternation than 
did the disappearance of that light ! The com- 
motion in the testing-room spread instantly to 
every part of the ship ; the whole staff of electri- 
cians was at once roused, and soon afterwards the 
engines of the Great Eastern were slowed and 
stopped, while, with bated breath and anxious looks, 
men whispered to each other that there was " a 
fault in the cable." 

A fault ! If the cable had committed a mortal 
sin they could scarcely have looked more horrified. 
Nevertheless there was ground for anxiety, for this 
fault, as in moral faults, indicated something that 
might end in destruction. 

After testing the cable for some time by signal- 
ling to the shore, M. de Sauty concluded that the 
fault was of a serious character, and orders were at 
once given to prepare the picking-up apparatus at 
the bow for the purpose of drawing the cable back 
into the ship until the defective portion should be 
reached and cut out. 

" 0 what a pity !" sighed Eobin, when he 
understood what was going to be done, and the 
feeling, if not the words, was shared by every one 
on board with more or less intelligence and in- 
tensity ; but there were veterans of submarine 
telegraphy who spoke encouragingly and treated 
the incident as a comparatively small matter. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



81 



Two men-of-war, the Terrible and the Sphinx, 
had been appointed to accompany and aid the 
Great Eastern on her important mission. A gun 
was fired and signals were made to acquaint these 
with what had occurred while the fires were being 
got up in the boilers of the picking-up machinery. 

Electricians as well as doctors differ, it would 
seem, among themselves, for despite their skill 
and experience there was great difference of opinion 
in the minds of those on board the big ship as to 
the place where the fault lay. Some thought it 
was near the shore, and probably at the splice of 
the shore- end with the main cable. Others calcu- 
lated, from the indications given by the tests, that 
it was perhaps twenty or forty or sixty miles astern. 
One of the scientific gentlemen held that it was 
not very far from the ship, while another gentle- 
man, who was said to be much experienced in 
" fault "-finding, asserted that it was not more than 
nine or ten miles astern. 

While the doctors were thus differing, the prac- 
tical engineers were busy making the needful pre- 
parations for picking-up — an operation involving 
great risk of breaking the cable, and requiring the 
utmost delicacy of treatment, as may be easily 
understood, for, while the cable is being payed out 
the strain on it is comparatively small, whereas 
when it is being picked up, there is not only the 

F 



82 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



extra strain caused by stoppage, and afterwards by 
hauling in, but there is the risk of sudden risings 
of the ship's stern on the ocean swell, which might 
at any moment snap the thin line like a piece of 
packthread. 

The first difficulty and the great danger was 
to pass the cable from the stern to the bow, and to 
turn the ship round, so as to enable them to steam 
up to the cable while hauling it in. Iron chains 
were lashed firmly to the cable at the stern, and 
secured to a wire-rope carried round the outside of 
the ship to the picking-up apparatus at the bows. 
The cable was down in 400 fathoms of water when 
the paying- out ceased, and nice management was 
required to keep the ship steady, as she had now no 
steerage-way ; and oh ! with what intense interest 
and curiosity and wonder did Eobin Wright regard 
the varied and wonderful mechanical appliances 
with which the whole affair was accomplished ! 

Then the cable was cut, and, with its shackles 
and chains, allowed to go plump into the sea ! 
Eobin's heart and soul seemed to go along with it, 
for, not expecting the event, he fancied it was lost 
for ever, 

" Gone !" he exclaimed, with a look of horror. 

" Not quite," said Jim Slagg, who stood at Eobin's 
elbow regarding the operations with a quiet look of 
intelligence. "Don't you see, Eobin, that a wire- 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



83 



rope fit a'most to hold the big ship herself is holdin' 
on to it." 

" Of course ; how stupid I am !" said Eobin, with 
a great sigh of relief ; " I see it now, going round 
to the bows." 

At first the rope was let run, to ease the strain 
while the ship swung round ; then it was brought 
in over the pulley at the bow, the paddles moved, 
and the return towards Ireland was begun. The 
strain, although great, was far from the breaking 
point, but the speed was very slow — not more than 
a mile an hour being considered safe in the process 
of picking-up. 

"Patience, Eobin," observed Mr. Smith, as he 
passed on his way to the cabin, " is a virtue much 
needed in the laying of cables. We have now 
commenced a voyage at the rate of one mile an 
hour, which will not terminate till we get back to 
' Owld Ireland, unless we find the fault." 

Patience, however, was not destined to be so 
severely tried. All that day and all night the slow 
process went on. Meanwhile— as the cable was 
not absolutely unworkable, despite the fault — the 
chief engineer, Mr. Canning, sent a message to 
Mr. Glass in Ireland, asking him to send out the 
Hawk steamer, in order that he might return in 
her to search for the defect in the shore-end of the 
cable, for if that were found he purposed sacrificing 



84: 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



the eighty odd miles already laid down, making a 
new splice with the shore-end, and starting afresh. 
A reply was received from Mr. Glass, saying that 
the Hawk would be sent out immediately. 

Accordingly, about daybreak of the 25th the 
Hawk appeared, but her services were not required, 
for, about nine that morning, when the cable was 
coming slowly in and being carefully examined 
foot by foot — nay, inch by inch — the fault was 
discovered, and joy took the place of anxiety. Ten 
and a quarter miles of cable had been picked up 
when the fault came inboard, and a strange un- 
accountable fault it turned out to be — namely, a 
small piece of wire which had been forced through 
the covering of the cable into the gutta-percha so 
as to injure, but not quite to destroy, the insulation. 
How such a piece of wire could have got into the 
tank was a mystery, but the general impression 
was that it had been earned there by accident and 
forced into the coil by the pressure of the paying- 
out machinery as the cable flew through the jockey- 
wheels. 

Signals were at once made to the fleet that the 
enemy had been discovered. Congratulatory signals 
were returned. The fault was cut out and a new 
splice made. The Hawk was sent home again. 
The big ship's bow was turned once more to the 
west, and the rattling of the machinery, as the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 85 



restored and revived cable passed over the stern, 
went merrily as a marriage bell. 

The detention had been only about twelve hours ; 
the great work was going on again as favourably as 
before the mishap occurred, and about half a mile 
had been payed out, when — blackness of despair — 
the electric current suddenly ceased, and communi- 
cation witli the shore was ended altogether ! 



36 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

m WHICH JOYS, HOPES, ALARMS, GHOSTS, AND LEVIATaANS 

TAKE PART. 

That man who can appreciate the feelings of 
one who has become suddenly bankrupt may under- 
stand the mental condition of those on board the 
Great Eastern when they were thus tossed from 
the pinnacle of joyous hope to the depths of dark 
despair. It was not, however, absolute despair. 
The cable was utterly useless indeed — insensate — 
but it was not broken. There was still the blessed 
possibility of picking it up and bringing it to life 
again. 

That, however, was scarcely an appreciable com- 
fort at the moment, and little could be seen or 
heard on board the Great Eastern save elongated 
faces and gloomy forebodings. 

Ebenezer Smith and his confreres worked in the 
testing-room like Trojans. They connected and 
disconnected; they put in stops and took them 
out ; they intensified currents to the extent of their 
anxieties; they reduced them to the measure of 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



87 



their despair — nothing would do. The cable was 
apparently dead. In these circumstances picking 
up was the only resource, and the apparatus for 
that purpose was again rigged up in the bows. 

In the meantime the splice which had been 
made to connect the tanks was cut and examined, 
and the portions coiled in the fore and main tanks 
were found to be perfect — alive and well — but the 
part between ship and shore was speechless. 

•So was poor Eobin Wright ! After Mr. Field — 
whose life-hope seemed to be doomed to disappoint- 
ment — the blow was probably felt most severely 
by Eobin. But Fortune seemed to be playfully 
testing the endurance of these cable-layers at that 
time, for, when the despair was at its worst, the 
tell-tale light reappeared on the index of the 
galvanometer, without rhyme or reason, calling 
forth a shout of joyful surprise, and putting an 
abrupt stoppage to the labours of the pickers-up ! 

They never found out what was the cause of that 
fault ; but that was a small matter, for, with restored 
sensation in the cable-nerve, renewed communica- 
tion with the shore, and resumed progress of the 
ship towards her goal, they could afford to smile at 
former troubles. 

Joy and sorrow, shower and sunshine, fair weather 
and foul, was at first the alternating portion of the 
cable -layers. 



88 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



"I can't believe my eyes !" said Eobin to Jim 
Slagg, as they stood next day, during a leisure hour, 
close to the whirling wheels and never -ending cable, 
about 160 miles of which had been laid by that 
time. " Just look at the Terrible and Sphinx ; the 
sea is now so heavy that they are thumping into 
the waves, burying their bows in foam, while we 
are slipping along as steadily as a Thames steamer." 

" That 's true, sir," answered Slagg, whose admira- 
tion for our hero's enthusiastic and simple character 
increased as their intimacy was prolonged, and whose 
manner of address became proportionally more 
respectful, " She 's a steady little duck is the Great 
Eastern ! she has got the advantage of length, you 
see, over other ships, an' rides on two waves at a 
time, instead of wobblin' in between 'em; but I 
raither think she 'd roll a bit if she was to go along 
in the trough of the seas. Don't the cable go out 
beautiful, too — ^just like a long-drawn eel with the 
consumption ! Did you hear how deep the captain 
said it was hereabouts ? " 

" Yes, I heard him say it was a little short of two 
miles deep, so it has got a long way to sink before 
it reaches its oozy bed." 

" How d'ee know what sort o' bed it 's got to lie 
on 1" asked Slagg. 

" Because," said Eobin, " the whole Atlantic where 
the cable is to lie has been carefully sounded long 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



89 



ago, and it is found that the ocean-bed here, which 
looks so like mud, is composed of millions of beauti- 
ful shells, so small that they cannot be distinguished 
by the naked eye. Of course, they have no crea- 
tures in them. It would seem that these shell-fish 
go about the ocean till they die, and then fall to the 
bottom like rain."-^ 

"You don't say so !" returned Slagg, who, being 
utterly uneducated, received suchlike information 
with charming surprise, and regarded Eobin as a 
very mine of knowledge. " Wellnow, that beats 
cock-fighting. But, I say, how is it that the elec- 
tricity works through the cable? I heerd one o' 
your electrical fellers explaining to a landlubber 
t'other evenin' that electricity could only run along 
wires when the circuit was dosed, by which he 
meant to say that it would fly from a battery and 
travel along a wire ever so far, if only that wire was 
to turn right round and run back to the same 
battery again. ]^ow, if that's so, seems to me 
that when you've got your cable to Newfoundland 
you '11 have to run another one back again to Ire- 
land before it '11 work." 

"Ah, Slagg, that would indeed be the case," 
returned Eobin, "were it not that we have dis- 

1 Those who visited the Crystal Palace at Sydenham during 
the recent Electrical Exhibition had an opportunity of seeing 
the shells here referred to under a powerful microscope. 



90 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

covered the important fact that the earth — the 
round globe on which we stand — itself acts the part 
of a grand conductor. So we have only to send 
down earth-wires at the two ends — one into the 
earth of Ireland, the other into the earth of IsTew- 
foundland, and straightway the circuit is closed, and 
the electricity generated in our batteries passes 
through the cable from earth to earth." I 

"Eobin/' said Slagg doubtingly, "d'you expect 
me for to believe i^^ai^r' 

" Indeed I do," said Eobin simply. 

" Then you 're greener than I took you for. N"o 
offence meant, but it's my opinion some o' these 
'cute electricians has bin tryin' the width of your 
swallow." 

I 

" IsTo, you are mistaken," returned Eobin earnestly; 
" I have read the fact in many books. The books 
differ in their opinions as to the causes and nature 
of the fact, but not as to the fact itself." 

It was evident that Eobin looked upon this as 
an unanswerable argument, and his friend seemed 
perplexed. 

" Well, I don' know how it is," he said, after a 
pause, "but I do believe that this here wonderful 
electricity is fit for a'most anything, an' that we '11 
have it revoloosionising everything afore long — I 
do indeed." 

The intelligent reader who has noted the gigantic 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER 



91 



strides which we have recently made in electric 
lighting of late will observe that Slagg, unwittingly, 
had become almost prophetic at this time. 

" We 're going along splendidly now," said Mr. 
Smith, coming up to Eobin that evening while he 
was conversing with Slagg, who immediately re- 
tired. — "Who is that youth ? He seems very fond of 
you ; I 've observed that he makes up to you when- 
ever you chance to be on deck together." 

" He is one of the steward's lads, sir ; I met him 
accidentally in the train ; but I suspect the fond- 
ness is chiefly on my side. He was very kind to 
me when I first came on board, and I really think 
he is an intelligent, good fellow — a strange mixture 
of self-confidence and humility. Sometimes, to hear 
him speak, you would think he knew everything ; 
but at the same time he is always willing — indeed 
anxious — to listen and learn. He is a capital 
fighter too." 

Here Eobin related the battle in the boys' berth, 
when Slagg thrashed Stumps, whereat Mr. Smith 
was much amused. 

" So he seems a peculiar lad — modest, impudent, 
teachable, kindly, and warlike ! Come below now, 
Eobin, I have some work for you. Did you make 
the calculations I gave you yesterday ?" 

"Yes, sir, and they corresponded exactly with 
your own." 



92 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



" Good. Go fetch my little note-book : I left it 
in the grand saloon on the furthest aft seat, port 
side." 

Eobin found the magnificent saloon of the big 
ship ringing with music and conversation. Joy 
over the recent restoration to health of the ailing 
cable, the comfortable stability of the ship in 
rough weather, and the satisfactory progress then 
being made, all contributed to raise the spirits of 
every one connected with the great work, so that, 
while some were amusing themselves at the piano, 
others were scattered about in little groups, dis- 
cussing the profounder mysteries of electric science, 
or prophesying the speedy completion of the enter- 
prise, while a few were speculating on the pro- 
bability of sport in ISTewfoundland, or planning out 
journeys through the United States. 

" There 's lots of game, I 'm told, in Newfound- 
land," said one of the youthful electricians, whose 
ruling passion — next to the subtle fluid — was the 
gun. 

" So I 've been told," replied an elder and graver 
comrade. " Polar bears are quite common in the 
woods, and it is said that walrus are fond of roost- 
ing in the trees." 

"Yes, I have heard so," returned the youthful 
sportsman, who, although young, was not to be 
caught with chaff, " and the fishing, I hear, is also 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



93 



splendid. Salmon and cod are found swarming in 
the rivers by those who care for mild occupation, 
while really exciting sport is to be had in the great 
lakes of the interior, where there are plenty of 
fresh-water whales that take the fly." 

"The swan, you mean," said another comrade. 
" The fly that is most killing among Newfoundland 
whales is a swan fastened whole to a shark hook — 
though a small boat's anchor will do if you haven't 
the right tackle." 

" Come, don't talk nonsense, but let 's have a 
song," said a brother electrician to the sporting- 
youth. 

" I never sing," he replied, " except when hurt, 
and then I sing out. But see, our best musician 
has just seated himself at the instrument." 

" Don't talk shop, Mmrod ; call it the piano." 

Most of those present drew towards the musical 
corner, where Ebenezer Smith, having just entered 
the saloon in search of Eobin, had been prevailed on 
to sit down and enliven the company. Eobin, who 
had been delayed by difficulty in finding the note- 
book, stopped to listen. 

Smith had a fair average voice and a vigorous 
manner. 

"You wouldn't object to hear the cook's last?" 
asked Smith, running his fingers lightly over the 
keys. 



94 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEK. 



" Of course not — go on," chorused several voices. 

" I had no idea/' lisped a simple youth, who was 
one of a small party of young gentlemen interested 
in engineering and science, who had been accommo- 
dated with a passage, — "I had no idea that our 
cook was a poet as well as an admirable cTiej de 
cuisine" 

" Oh, it 's not OUT cook he means," explained the 
sporting electrician ; " Mr. Smith refers to a certain 
sea-cook — or his son, I 'm not sure which — who is 
chef des Tiorse-maTines." 

" Is there a chorus ?" asked one. 

" Of course there is," replied Smith ; " a sea-song 
without a chorus is like a kite without a tail — it is 
sure to fall flat, but the chorus is an old and 
well-known one — it is only the song that is new. 
JTow then, clear your throats, gentlemen." 

SONG— THE LOSS OF THE NANOY LEE. 

I. 

'Twas on a Friday morning tliat I went off, 

An' shipped in the Nancy Lee, 
But that ship caught a cold and with one tremendons cough 

Went slap to the bottom of the sea, the sea, the sea — 
Went slap to the bottom of the sea. 

Chorus. — Then the raging sea may roar, 

An' the stormy winds may blow, 
While we jolly sailor boys rattle up aloft, 
And the landlubbers lie down below, below, below; 
And the landlubbers lie down below. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



95 



II. 

For wery nigli a century I lived with the crabs, 

An' danced wi' the Mermaids too, 
An' drove about the Ocean in mother o' pearl cabs, 
An' dwelt in a cavern so blue, so blue, so blue ; 
An' dwelt in a cavern so blue. 
Chorus. — Then the raging sea, etc. 

III. 

I soon forgot the sorrows o' the world above 

In the pleasures o' the life below ; 
Queer fish they made up to me the want o' human love. 
As through the world o' waters I did go, did go, did go ; 
As through the world o' waters I did go. 
Chorus. — Then the raging sea, etc. 

IV. 

One day a horrid grampus caught me all by the nose, 

An' swung me up to the land, — 
An' I never went to sea again, as everybody knows, 

And as everybody well may understand, 'derstand, 'derstand, 
And as everybody well may understand. 
Chorus. — Then the raging sea, etc. 

The plaudits witli which this song was received 
were, it need scarcely be remarked, due more to the 
vigour of the chorus and the enthusiasm of the 
audience than to intrinsic merit. Even Eobin 
Wright was carried off his legs for the moment, and, 
modest though he was, broke in at the chorus with 
such effect — his voice being shrill and clear — that 
he unintentionally outyelled all the rest, and would 
have fled in consternation from the saloon if he had 
not been caught and forcibly detained by the sport- 



96 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



ing electrician, who demanded what right he had to 
raise his steam -whistle in that fashion. 

" But I say, young Wright," he added in a lower 
tone, leading our hero aside, " what 's this rumour I 
hear about a ghost in the steward's cabin?" 

" Oh ! it is nothing to speak of," replied Eobin, 
with a langh. "The lad they call Stumps got a 
fright— that's all." 

" But that 's enough. Let us hear about it." 

" Well, I suppose you know," said Eobin, " that 
there 's a ghost in the Great Eastern." 

" !N"o, I don't know it from personal experience, 
but I have heard a report to that effect." 

" Well, I was down in Jim Slagg's berth, having a 
chat with him about the nature of electric currents 
— for he has a very inquiring mind, — and somehow 
we diverged to ghosts, and began to talk of the ghost 
of the Great Eastern. 

" ' I don't believe in the Great Eastern ghost- 
no, nor in ghosts of any kind,' said Stumps, who was 
sitting near us eating a bit of cheese. 

But I believe in 'em,' said the boy Jeff, who was 
seated on the other side of the table, and looked at 
us so earnestly that we could scarce help smiling — 
though we didn't feel in a smiling humour at the 
time, for it was getting dark, and we had got to talk- 
ing in low tones and looking anxiously over our 
shoulders, you know — 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



97 



" ' Oh yes, I know/ replied the sportsman, with a 
laugh ; ' I have shuddered and grue-oo-'d many a 
time over ghost-stories. Well ? ' 

" */ don't believe in 'em, Jeff. Why do you T asked 
Stumps, in a scoffing tone. 

"'Because I hear one every night a'most when I 
go down into the dark places below to fetch things. 
There's one particular spot where the ghost goes 
tap-tap-tapping continually.' 

" ' Piddlededee,' said Stumps. 

" ' Come down, and you shall hear it for yourself,' 
said Jeff. 

" Now, they say that Stumps is a coward, though 
he boasts a good deal — ." 

" You may say," interrupted the sportsman, " that 
Stumps is a coward hecaiise he boasts a good deal. 
Boasting is often a sign of cowardice — though not 
always." 

"Well," continued Eobin, "being ashamed to 
draw back, I suppose, he agreed to accompany 
Jeff." 

" ' Won 't you come too, Slagg?' said Stumps. 

" * No ; I don't care a button for ghosts. Besides, 
I 'm too busy, but Wright will go. There, don't 
bother me !' said Jim. 

" I noticed, as I went last out of the room, that 
Slagg rose quickly and pulled a sheet off one of the 
beds. Afterwards, looking back, I saw him slip 

G 



98 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 

out and run down the passage in the opposite 
direction. I suspected he was about some mischief, 
but said nothing. 

" It was getting dark, as I have said, though not 
dark enough for lighting the lamps, and in some 
corners below it was as dark as midnight. To one 
of these places Jeff led us. 

" ' Mind how you go now,' whispered Jeff ; ' it 's 
here somewhere, and there 's a hole too — look out — 
there it is ! ' 

" ' What ! the ghost ? ' whispered Stumps, begin- 
ning to feel uneasy. To say truth, I began to feel 
uneasy myself without well knowing why. At 
that moment I fell over something, and came down 
with a crash that shook Stumps's nerves completely 
out of order. 

" ' I say, let 's go back,' he muttered in a tremulous 
voice. 

" ' No, no,' whispered Jeff, seizing Stumps by the 
arm with a sudden grip that made him give a short 
yelp, ' we are at the place now. It 's in this dark 
passage. Listen ! ' 

" We all held our breath and listened. For a few 
seconds we heard nothing, but presently a slight 
tapping was heard. 

" ' I 've heard,' whispered Jeff in a low tone, ' that 
when the big ship was buildin', one o' the plate- 
riveters disappeared in some hole between the two 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



99 



skins o' the ship hereabouts, and his comrades, not 
bein' able to find him, were obliged at last to rivet 
Mm in, which they did so tight that even his ghost 
could not get out, so it goes on tappin', as you hear, 
an' is likely to go on tappin' for ever,' 

" ' Bosh ! ' whispered Stumps ; thus politely in- 
timating his disbelief, but I felt him trembling all 
over notwithstanding. 

" At that moment we saw a dim shadowy whitish 
object at the other end of the dark passage. ' Wha' 
— wha' — what 's that ? ' said I. 

" Stumps gasped. I heard his teeth chattering, 
and I think his knees were knocking together. 
Jeff made no sound, and it was too dark to see his 
face. Suddenly the object rushed at us. There 
was no noise of footsteps— only a muffled sound 
and a faint hissing. I stood still, unable to move. 
So did Jeff. I felt the hair of my head rising. 
Stumps gasped again— then turned and fled. The 
creature, whatever it was, brushed past us with 
a hideous laugh. I guessed at once that it was Jim 
Slagg, but evidently Stumps didn't, for he uttered 
an awful yell that would have roused the whole 
ship if she had been of an ordinary size; at the same 
moment he tripped and fell on the thing that had 
upset me, and the ghost, leaping over him, vanished 
from our sight. 

" To my surprise, on returning to our cabin, we 



100 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



found Slagg as we had left him, with both hands on 
his forehead poring over his book. I was almost as 
much surprised to see Jeff sit down and laugh 
heartily.— Now, what do you think it could have 
been?" 

" It was Slagg, of course," answered the sporting 
electrician. 

" Yes, but what causes the tapping ?" 

" Oh, that is no doubt some little trifle- — a chip 
of wood, or bit of wire left hanging loose, which 
shakes about when the ship heaves." 

A sudden tramping of feet overhead brought this 
ghostly discussion to an abrupt close, and caused 
every man in the saloon to rush on deck with a ter- 
rible feeling in his heart that something had gone 
wrong. 

" Not broken ? " asked an electrician with a pale 
face on reaching the deck. 

" Oh no, sir," replied an engineer, with an anxious 
look, " not quite so bad as that, but a whale has 
taken a fancy to inspect us, and he is almost' too 
attentive." 

So it was. A large Greenland whale was play^- 
ing about the big ship, apparently under the im- 
pression that she was a giant of his own species, 
and it had passed perilously close to the cable. 

A second time it came up, rolling high above the 
waves. It went close past the stern — rose again 




I'WO LEVIAlClIAIvS AT THE CABLE.— Page 100- 



I 

) 

li 
i 
i 

,1 

i 

j 

■,l 

\ 

•i 

1 
\ 

s 

I 

I 
I 

i 




THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



101 



and dived with a gentle flop of its great tail, wMch, 
if it had touched the cable, would have cut it like 
a thread. At that trying moment, as they saw its 
huge back glittering in the moonlight, the hearts of 
the helpless spectators appeared absolutely to stand 
still. When the monster dived its side even touched 
the cable, but did not damage it. Being apparently 
satisfied by that time that the ship was not a 
friend, the whale finally disappeared in the depths 
of its ocean home. 



102 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



CHAPTEE X. 

TELLS OF GEEAT EFFORTS AND FArLURES AND GRAND SUCCESS. | 

Thus happily and smoothly all things went, with 
little bursts of anxiety and little touches of alarm, 
just sufficient, as it were, to keep up the spirits of i 
all, till the morning of the 30th July. But on that 
morning an appearance of excitement in the testing- 
room told that something had again gone wrong. 
Soon the order was given to slow the engines, then 
to stop them ! 

The bursting of a thunder-clap, the explosion of 
a powder-magazine, could not have more effectually 
awakened the slumberers than this abrupt stoppage 
of the ship's engines. Instantly all the hatchways 
poured forth anxious inquirers. 

" Another fault," was the reply to such. 

" 0 dear !" said some. . I 

*' Horrible !" said others. 

" N"ot so bad as a break," sighed the hopeful ' 
spirits. 

"It is bad enough," said the chief electrician, ^ 
" for we have found dead earth." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



103 



By this the chief meant to say that insulation 
had been completely destroyed, and that the whole 
current of electricity was escaping into the sea. 

About 716 miles had been payed out at the time, 
and as signals had till then been regularly received 
from the shore, it was naturally concluded that the 
fault lay near to the ship. 

" Now then, get along," said an engineer to one 
of the cable-men ; " you 11 have to cut, and splice, 
and test, while we are getting ready the tackle to 
pick up." 

"I don't like that cuttin' o' the cable, Bill," said 
one of the sailors, as he went forward, " it seems 
dangerous, it do." 

" ISTo more do I, Dick," replied his mate ; " I feel 
as if it never could be rightly spliced again." 

" Why, bless you, boys," said a cable-man near 
them, " cables is used to that now, like eels to bein' 
skinned; and so are we, for that matter. We think 
nothin' of it." 

Clearly the cable -man was right, for, while the 
picking-up apparatus was being got ready, the cable 
was cut in no fewer than three places, in order to 
test the coils that lay in the tanks. These being 
found all right, the picking-up was begun with 
anxious care. The moment of greatest danger was 
when the big ship was swinging round. For a few 
but apparently endless moments the cable had to 



104 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



bear the strain, and became rigid like a bar of steel. 
Then it was got in over the bows, where all was 
bustle, and noise, and smoke, as the picking-up 
machinery panted and rattled. 

All day the work went on. Night descended, 
but still the cable was coming in slowly, unwillingly, 
— now jerkily, as if half inclined to yield, anon pain- 
fully, as if changing its mind, until the strain was 
equal to two and a half tons, A row of lanterns 
lighted it, and the men employed watched and 
handled it carefuUy to detect the " fault," while the 
clattering wheels played harsh music. 

" We'll never find it," growled an impatient young 
electrician. 

As if to rebuke him for his want of faith, the 
"fault" came in then and there — at 9.50 p.m., ship's 
time. 

" Ah ! " said Mr. Field, whose chief characteristic 
was an unwavering faith in ultimate success, " I 
knew we should find it ere long. I have often 
known cables to stop working for two hours, no one 
knew why, and then begin again." 

" Well now, Mr. Wright, it floors me altogether 
does this here talkin' by electricity." 

The man who made this remark to our hero was 
one who could not have been easily " floored " by 
any • other means than electricity. He was a huge 
blacksmith — a stalwart fellow who had just been 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 105 



heaving tlie sledge-hammer with the seeming powers 
of Vulcan himself, and who chanced to be near 
Eohin when he paused to rest and mop the 
streaming perspiration from his brow, while a 
well-matched, brother took his place at the 
anvil. 

"You see," he continued, "I can't make out 
nohow what the electricity does when it gits 
through the cable from Ireland to Noofun'land. 
Of course it don't actooally speak, you know — no 
more does it whistle, I suppose ; an' even if it did 
I don't see as we 'd be much the wiser. What do it 
do, Mr. Wright ? You seem to be well up in these 
matters, an' not above explainin' of 'em to the likes 
o' us as ha'n't got much edication." 

Tew things pleased Eobin more than being asked 
to impart what knowledge he possessed, or to make 
plain subjects that were slightly complex. He was 
not always successful in his attempts at elucidation, 
partly because some subjects were too complex to 
simplify, and partly because some intellects were 
obtuse, but he never failed to try. 

" You must know," he replied, with that earnest 
look which was apt to overspread his face when 
about to explain a difficulty, " that a piece of com- 
mon iron can be converted into a magnet by 
electrifying it, and it can be unconverted just as 
fast by removing the electricity. Well, suppose I 



106 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



have a bit of iron in America, with an electric 
battery in Ireland, or vice mrsa — 

" Wot 's wicey wersa, Mr. Wright ?" 

" Oh, it means the terms being changed — turned 
the other way, you know — back to the front, as it 
were — in short, I mean the battery being in America 
and the bit of iron in Ireland." 

" Well, well, who 'd a thought there was so much 
in wicey wersa ; but go on, Mr. Wright." 

"ISTow, you must suppose," continued Eobin, 
" that a needle, like the mariner's compass needle, 
hangs beside my bit of iron, close to it, and that a 
wire, or conductor of electricity, connects the iron 
with my electric battery in Ireland. Well, that 
makes a magnet of it, and the suspended needle, 
being attracted, sticks to it. Then I disconnect the 
wire from my battery by touching a handle, the bit 
of iron ceases to be a magnet, and the needle wags 
free. Again I connect the battery, and the needle 
flies to the remagnetised bit of iron. Thus, as fast 
as I choose, I can make the needle wag, and by a 
simple arrangement we can make it wag right or 
left, so many beats right or left, or alternately, 
representing letters. By varying the beats we vary 
the letters, and thus spell out our messages. Now, 
do you understand it ?" 

"Well, I aint quite sure that I does," replied 
Vulcan ; " I 've got a hazy notion that by touchin' 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 107 



and removin' the touch from a conductor, connect- 
ing and disconnecting wires and batteries, you can 
make electricity flow just as you let on or stop 
water by turnin' a stopcock — " 

" JSTot exactly/' interrupted Eobin, " because, you 
see, electricity does not really flow, not being a 
substance." 

" IsTot a substance, sir ! w'y, w'ot is it then ?" 

" Like light and sound, it is merely an effect, an 
influence, a result," answered Eobin. " We only 
use the word jiow, and talk of electricity as a fluid, 
for convenience' sake." 

"Well, w'otever it is or isn't," continued the 
puzzled Vulcan, gazing at vacancy for a few seconds, 
" when you 've set it agoin' — or set agoin' the things 
as sets it agoin' — you make a suspended needle 
wag, and when you stop it you make the needle 
stop waggin', and by the way in which that there 
needle wags you can spell out the letters o' the 
alphabit — so many wags to the right bein' one letter, 
so many wags to the left bein' another letter, an' 
so on, — so that, what between the number o' wags 
an' the direction o' the waggin's, you — you come 
for to — there, I 'm lost again, an' I must go in for 
another spell wi' the sledge, so we '11 have to tackle 
the subject another time, Mr. Wright." 

Thus speaking, Vulcan seized the ponderous 
hammer in his powerful grasp and proceeded to 



108 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



beat form into a mass of glowing metal with much 
greater ease than he had been able to thump 
telegraphy into his own brain. 

In the discovery of the "fault" and the cutting 
out of the injured part of the cable, twenty-six 
hours were lost. During all that time Captain 
Anderson was obliged to remain on deck, while the 
minds and bodies of the engineers and electricians 
were subjected to a severe strain for the same 
period. They had scarcely begun to breathe freely 
again, and to congratulate each other on being able 
to continue the voyage, when they received another 
shock of alarm by the cable suddenly flying off 
the drum, while it was being transferred from the 
picking-up machinery in the bow to the paying- 
out arrangements in the stern. Before the 
machinery could be stopped, some fathoms of cable 
had become entangled among the wheels and 
destroyed. This part having been cut out, how- 
ever, and new splices made, the paying-out process 
was resumed. 

"I'll turn in now and have a snooze, Eobin," 
said Ebenezer Smith, " and you had better do the 
same ; you look tired." 

This was indeed true, for not a man or boy in the 
ship took a more anxious interest in the cable than 
did our little hero. He had begun to regard it as 
a living creature, and to watch over it, and dream 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



109 



about it, as if it were a dear friend in extreme 
danger. The enthusiastic boy was actually becom- 
ing careworn and thin, for he not only performed 
all the duties required of him with zealous applica- 
tion, but spent his leisure, and much of the time 
that should have been devoted to rest, in the 
careful study of his idol — intensely watching it and 
all that was in the remotest way connected with it. 

" You 're a goose," said Stumps, in passing, when 
he heard Eobin decline to retire as Smith had 
advised him. 

" It may be so, and if so, Stumps, I shall con- 
tinue to cackle a little longer on deck while they 
are examining the fault." 

That examination, when finished, produced a 
considerable sensation. The process was conducted 
in private. The condemned portion was cut in 
junks and tested, until the faulty junk was dis- 
covered. This was untwisted until the core was 
laid bare, and when about a foot of it had been 
so treated, the cause of evil was discovered, drawing 
from the onlookers an exclamation of horror rather 
than surprise, as they stood aghast, for treachery 
seemed to have been at work ! 

" An enemy in the ship !" murmured one. 

" What ship without an enemy ?" thought 
another. 

That mischief had been intended was obvious, 



110 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



for a piece of iron wire, bright as if cut with 
nippers at one end and broken off short at the 
other, had been driven right through the centre 
of the cable, so as to touch the inner wires — thus 
forming a leak, or conductor, into the sea. There 
could be no doubt that it had not got there by 
accident ; neither had it been driven there during 
the making or shipping of the cable, for in that 
case the testings for continuity would have betrayed 
its presence before the starting of the expedition. 
The piece of wire, too, was the same size as that 
which formed the protecting cover, and it was of 
the exact diameter of the cable. There was also 
the mark of a cut on the Manilla hemp, where the 
wire had entered. It could have been done only 
by one of the men who were at work in the tank 
at the time the portion went over, and, strange 
to say, this was the same gang which had been at 
work there when the previous " fault " occurred ! 

"Call all the men aft," was the order that 
quickly followed this discovery. 

The piece of cable was handed to them, and they 
were allowed to examine it in silence. They did 
so in great surprise, mingled with indignation. 

" It 's bin done a'purpose, an' driven in by a 
skilful hand," said one. 

" You 're right, J oe," said another. 

" I know," whispered a third, " that one of the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



Ill 



men expressed satisfaction when the last fault 
occurred, an' I Ve heard say that we 've got 
enemies to the makers o' the cable aboard." 

The man thus darkly referred to, whoever he 
was, of course looked as innocent and as indignant 
as the most virtuous among them ; the guilt, there- 
fore, could not be brought home to him. Woe 
betide him if it had been, for there was a serious 
talk of lynching some one among the wrathful men, 
each of whom was now subject to suspicion. 

In these trying circumstances, the chief engineer 
accepted an offer made by the gentlemen in the 
ship, to take turn about in superintending the men 
at work in the tank paying out the cable. 

" It 's not pleasant, of course," replied one of the 
men, speaking for the rest, " but we feel it to be 
justifiable, as well as necessary, and are very glad 
the plan has been adopted." 

Once more the big ship went merrily on her 
way, and the great cable went down to its ocean 
bed so smoothly and regularly, that men began 
to talk of speedy arrival at Heart's Content — their 
destination in ^Newfoundland — which was now only 
about 600 miles distant; but their greatest troubles 
still lay before them. About eight o'clock in the 
morning of 2d August another bad fault was re- 
ported, and they had once again to resort to the 
wearisome process of picking up. 



112 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



At first all seemed about to go well. A gale 
was indeed blowing at the time, but that did not 
much affect the colossal ship. The cable was cut, 
fastened to its iron rope, passed to the bow, and got 
in over the pulleys. Then, and very slowly, it was 
drawn on board. When a mile or so had been 
recovered, the gearing of one of the engines got 
a little out of order, and the process had to be 
temporarily stopped ; then something went wrong 
with the boilers, but soon these difficulties were 
removed. Immediately after, the Great Eastern 
drifted so that it was impossible to prevent the 
cable from chafing against her bows. Equally 
impossible was it to go astern, lest the strain 
should be too great. Then the wind suddenly 
shifted, making matters worse. Suddenly the 
chain shackle and wire-rope attached to the 
cable came in over the wheel at the bows with 
considerable violence. Another moment and the 
cable parted, flew through the stoppers, and, with 
one bound, flashed into the sea and disappeared ! 

IsTow, at last, the fatal climax so much dreaded 
had arrived. The days and nights of anxious 
labour had been spent in vain. The cable was 
lost, and with it went not only hundreds of 
thousands of pounds, but the hopes of hundreds of 
thousands of people, whose sanguine expectations 
of success were thus rudely dispelled. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 113 



Need it be said that something very like despair 
reigned for the moment on board the Great 
Eastern ? 

Most of the gentlemen on board — never dreaming 
of catastrophe — were at luncheon, when Mr. Canning 
entered the saloon with a look that caused every 
one to start. 

" It is all over ! — it is gone ! " he said, and 
hastened to his cabin. 

Mr. Field, with the composure of faith and 
courage though very pale, entered the saloon 
immediately after, and confirmed the cliief engi- 
neer's statement. 

" The cable has parted," he said, " and has gone 
overboard." 

From the chiefs down even to Stumps and his 
fraternity all was blank dismay ! As for our hero 
Eobin Wright, he retired to his cabin, flung himself 
on his bed, and sobbed as though his heart would 
break. 

But such a state of things could not last. Men's 
spirits may be stunned and crushed, but they 
are seldom utterly overwhelmed so long as life 
endures. 

Eecovering from the shock, Mr. Canning set 
about the process of grappling for the lost cable 
with persistent energy. But fishing in water two 
and a half miles deep is no easy matter. IsTever- 

H 



114 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



theless, it was done. Again and again, and over 
again, were two monster hooks in the shape of 
grapnels let down to the bottom of the sea, with an 
iron rope for a line, and the Great Eastern for a float ! 

The plan, of course, was to go back a few miles 
on their course and then drag across the known 
position of the lost treasure. 

We say known, because good observations had 
fortunately been obtained by Captain Anderson just 
before the accident. 

Two hours did the grapnels descend before they 
reached the bottom of the sea ! All night did the 
cable-layers fish, with the characteristic patience 
of fishermen, but did not get a nibble. Towards 
morning, however, there was a decided bite, and 
the line became taut. 

" Got him I " exclaimed an enthusiast eagerly. 

" Don't be too sure," replied a philosopher 
cautiously. 

" It may be a bit of wreck," suggested Ebenezer 
Smith, who was a natural doubter. 

" Or a whale, or the great sea-serpent," said the 
sporting electrician, who was ' everything by turns 
and nothing long.' 

" We shall very soon know," remarked a matter- 
of-fact engineer. " If it is a loose object the strain 
will decrease as it nears the surface, but if it be the 
cable the strain will certainly increase, because its 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



115 



weight will be greater the more of it we lift off the 
bottom." 

Earnestly did every one regard the dynamometer 
which told the exact amount of strain on the iron 
fishing-line, and to their joy the strain increased 
until the object caught had been raised three- 
quarters of a mile from the bottom. Then a swivel 
gave way, and the cable went back to its ocean-bed. 

But those plucky engineers were not to be over- 
come by a first failure. Having started with five 
miles of fishing-line, they proceed at once to make 
a second attempt. 

" Oh, I do hope they will hook it again ! " said 
Bobin Wright. 

" And so they will," said Ebenezer Smith. 

And so they did. Late in the afternoon of the 
Monday following, their fish was again hooked and 
raised a full mile from the bottom, when another 
swivel gave way, and down it went a second time! 

The fishing-line was now getting short. It be- 
hoved them to act with more caution. New bolts 
were put in each shackle and swivel, and the cap- 
stan was increased in diameter, being belted with 
thick plates of iron. To effect these alterations the 
forges had to be erected on deck, and at night these 
cast a lurid glare on the busy workers, bringing out 
every near object in vivid relief against the ebony 
background of space behind, while they made prepar- 



116 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



ations for a tliird cast of the fisliing-line. The cast 
was made successfully, it was thought, but one of 
the grapnels had caught the line with one of its 
flukes, so that it could not catch anything else, and 
the result was-— nothing. 

A fourth attempt was then made. It was to be 
the last. The fishing-line seemed too weak, and its 
frequent breakings had reduced it so much that other 
chains had to be attached to it. With this thing of 
shreds and patches the cable was once more hooked 
and brought up nearly eight hundred fathoms, when 
the line gave way once more, and the cable went 
down for the last time. 

jN'othing more could be done. The Great Eastern 
turned her large bows to the east and steered grandly, 
though sadly, away for old England. 

But don't imagine, good reader, that these cable- 
layers were beaten. They were baffled, indeed, for 
that year (1865), but not conquered. Cyrus Field 
had resolved that the thing should be done — and 
done it was the following year; for the laying of the 
cable had been so nearly a success, that great capital- 
ists, such as Brassey, Gooch, Barclay, Campbell, 
Pender, and others, at once came forward. Among 
these were the contractors. Glass and Elliot, who 
agreed not only to make and lay a new cable, but 
to pick up and complete the old one. Cyrus Eield 
liimseK, besides energising like Hercules to push 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



117 



the matter on, was one of ten subscribers who each 
contributed £10,000. Thus £230,500 were privately 
subscribed before a prospectus was issued. 

Our little hero was at the laying of that (1866) 
cable, when the same great ship, with the same 
captain and most of the engineers and electricians 
who had gone out on the previous voyage, landed 
the end of the 1820-mile rope on the shores of 
Newfoundland, on Friday, 27th July. He cheered 
with the rest in wild enthusiasm when the Great 
Eastern dropped anchor in " Heart's Content." He 
accompanied Captain Anderson and the officers 
of the fleet when they went in a body to the little 
church there, to thank God for the successful com- 
pletion of the great enterprise. He was present 
when the big ship, having received from other ships 
8000 tons of coal, and some six hundred miles of the 
old cable, went back to mid-ocean to grapple for the 
lost cable of 1865. He assisted and watched with 
the deepest interest the amazing efforts of scientific 
and mechanical power put forth in the mere matter 
of dragging for the cable from the bottom, and 
observed with reverence, amounting almost to awe, 
the great moving spirit of the whole affair, the 
indomitable Mr. Field, as he went to the bow and 
sat on the rope to feel the quiver which told him it 
was dragging the bottom of the sea two miles below. 
He was present, with blazing cheeks and eyes and 



118 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



bated breath, when, on the 17th of August, the 
cable was caught, dragged to the surface, and 
actually seen, and broke and sank again as deep as 
ever — though not so deep as the hearts of those who 
saw it go ! He shared in the weary delays that 
followed, and in the final triumph when the cable 
was fairly caught and at last brought on board, and 
carried to the testing-room, amid intense excitement, 
lest it should prove to have been damaged by its 
rough treatment, and his voice helped to swell the 
roar of enthusiastic cheering that greeted the an- 
nouncement that the old cable was still alive ! 

But all this we must leave, and carry the reader 
back to old England faster than the Great Eastern 
could have rushed — ay, faster than the message on 
the flashing cable itself could have sped, for mind 
is more subtle than matter, and thought is swifter 
than even the Atlantic Telegraph, 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



119 



CHAPTEK XL 

HOME ! 

" At last !" exclaimed Eobin, bursting into his 
old home and seizing his mother in his arms. 

Eobin had just returned home after the laying of 
the 1866 Atlantic Cable, as briefly narrated in the 
last chapter. 

It may be said with some truth that the old 
home became, during the next few days, a private 
lunatic asylum, for its inmates went mildly mad 
with joy. 

Chief among the lunatics was uncle Eik, the 
retired sea-captain. That madman's case, however, 
was not temporary derangement, like the others'. 
It was confirmed insanity, somewhat intensified 
just then by the nephew's return. 

" So, young man," he said, one evening at supper, 
when the family traveller was dilating to open- 
eyed-and-mouthed listeners, " you actually believe 
that these cables are goin' to work ? " 

" Of course I do, uncle. They are working now, 
and have been working for many years." 



120 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



" Well, now, the gullibility o' some people is 
stupendous !" returned Eik. " Don't you know, 
Eobin, that everything a'most works for a time, 
and then, sooner or later — usually sooner — the 
rediculous thing bursts up ? 

"But, uncle, you beg the question in classing 
submarine cables among ridiculous things. Besides, 
have not dozens of cables been working satis- 
factorily for many years, without showing signs of 
bursting up as yet ?" 

" Pooh ! bah ! boh !" replied uncle Eik, by which 
he meant to say that though convinced against his 
will he was of the same opinion still. 

At that moment cousin Sam Shipton entered 
with an eager, excited look. 

" It 's all settled," he said, taking Eobin by the 
hand. 

" What is settled ?" asked Mrs. Wright, somewhat 
anxiously. 

" Mother, don't be angry," said Eobin, laying his 
hand on his mother's shoulder, and speaking tenderly, 
" I meant to have told you the moment I came in 
to-day, but uncle Eik with his argumentative spirit 
drove it and everything else except cables out of 
my head — " 

"Well, but what is it?" interrupted Madge 
impatiently ; " why do you keep us in suspense ?" 
" I have some prospect, mother, of being appointed 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 121 

to go with a telegraph-laying party to the East, but 
Sam is wrong when he says it is all settled. What- 
ever he may have to tell ns, it is by no means 
settled until I have your and father's opinion." 

"Well, you horribly good but ungrateful boy," 
returned Sam, " it is at least settled as far as I 
have do with it. I have made application at head- 
quarters, and they are willing to take you on my 
recommendation. Moreover, I am myself going," 

"You're joking, Sam!" exclaimed Eobin, with a 
flush of joy ; " I thought you had neither intention 
nor desire to go far from home." 

"You thought wrong, Eobin. I always had 
desire, and now have intention — and I go as second 
in command. So, Miss Mayland," he continued, 
turning to Madge, "I shan't be able to continue 
those electrical lectures which you were so fond of 
once, but have lately seemed to grow tired of." 

Madge was at that tender age of budding woman- 
hood when sensitive girls are apt to misunderstand 
a jest. She blushed, stammered something, then 
forced a laugh, and turned to speak to Eobin ; but 
Sam perceived that tears rose to her eyes, and he 
instantly sank in his own estimation to the con- 
dition of a loathsome reptile. 

"Well, now, that is good news," cried Eobin, 
applying himself to the viands on the table with 
renewed zest. "You cannot have the smallest 



122 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 

objection or anxiety, mother, I should think, when 
you know I shall he under so able a guide." 

" I have not yet thought it over, Eobin," 

" And you, father?" 

" Go, my boy, and my blessing go with you," 
said Mr. Wright, all but choking the blessing with 
a huge oyster. 

"Are any labourers to go with us ?" asked Kobin, 

" One or two picked ones." 

" Then you must allow me to pick one, Sam. 
My friend Jim Slagg is at present cast adrift with 
a considerable part of the Great Eastern's crew. He 
will be delighted to go, I know, and is a first-rate, 
hard-working, willing, conscientious youth." 

" He ought to be proud of having so warm a friend 
and advocate," said Sam, " but I have no power to 
choose the men." 

" 0 yes, you have, Sam. If you could get me 
appointed, you can get him appointed; and you 
must, for, if you don't, I won't go." 

" You are hard on me, Eobin, but I '11 try." 

" But you have not yet told us where it is that 
they are going to send you," said Mrs. Wright. 

" Ah ! that 's not fixed," replied Sam ; " they are 
laying down lines in Turkey ; and Egypt is talked 
of, and telegraph to India itself is even hinted at. 
All I know is that we shall be sent to the East 
somewhere." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



123 



" Ball ! boo ! Why does nobody ask for my 
opinion on the matter?" said uncle Eik, as he gazed 
at the company over a goose drumstick, which was 
obviously not tender. 

" Your opinion, brother," said Mr. Wright, " is so 
valuable, that no doubt your nephew has been 
keeping it to the last as a sort of tit-bit— eh, 
Eobin?" 

" Well, uncle ; come, let us have it," said Eobin. 

"You don't deserve it," returned Eik, with a 
wrench at the drumstick, " but you shall have it all 
the same, free, gratis. Was this bird fed on gutta- 
percha shavings, sister Nan?" 

" Perhaps — or on violin strings, I'm not sure 
which," replied Mrs. Wright blandly. 

" Well," continued the captain, " you youngsters 
will go off, I see, right or wrong, and you '11 get 
half-drowned in the sea, roasted in the East, 
smothered in the desert, eaten alive by cannibals, 
used up by the plague, poisoned by serpents, and 
tee-totally ruined altogether. Then you '11 come 
home w^th the skin of your teeth on — nothing 
more." 

" I sincerely hope it will be summer at the time," 
said Sam, laughing ; " but we are grateful to you 
for prophesying that we shall return, even though in 
such light clothing." 

" That 's what '11 happen," continued the captain. 



124 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



regarding the other drumstick with some hesitation; 
" you may take the word of an old salt for it. I Ve 
lived in the good old times, lads, and I know that 
all these new-fangled notions are goin' to burst up 
— and that 's what '11 come of it." 

Whether that was what came of it remains to be 
seen. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER 



125 



CIIAPTEE XII. 

A GREAT DYNAMO-ELECTRIC SEA-PIGIIT. 

A FEW weeks after the utterance of Captain Eik's 
famous prophecy, Eobin, Sam, Stumps, and Slagg 
found themselves on board of a large submarine 
cable steam-ship, named the Triton, ploughing 
the billows of the Southern Ocean. 

A few weeks later and they were drawing near 
to that great concourse of islands known as the 
Malay Archipelago, where nature is exceptionally 
beautiful, but man is rather vile. At all events, 
that region of the ocean lying to the south of China 
has been long infamous for the number and ferocity 
of its pirates, who, among the numerous islands, 
with their various channels, creeks, and rivers, have 
found a suitable field for their bloody and remorse- 
less game. 

" D' you know I don't believe in pirates ?" said 
Eobin to Sam, as they stood at the bow of the 
cable-ship, conversing about these sea-robbers. 

" They believe in you nevertheless, as you 'd find 



I 



126 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 

out to your cost if we came across one just 
now." 

The voice that replied was not Sam's, but that ^ 
of the captain, who had come forward to get a 
clearer sweep of the horizon ahead with his glass. ; 

" Do you think it likely, sir, that we may meet j 
with any of the rascals ? " asked Sam. ^ 

" Not at all unlikely," replied the captain, fixing ^ 
his glass and putting it to his eye, " though 1 don't 
think it likely that we shall be attacked, as we are 
large and don't look like a richly freighted merchant- 
man. However, there is no saying. These scoundrels \ 
fear nothing, and when hard up will attack any- 
thing but a man-of-war. I half suspect that I am 
looking at one of them now." 

This latter announcement, calmly uttered, threw 
all who heard it into quite a flutter of excitement. 

The captain was a big, dark-skinned, bearded 
man, with a quiet, half-humorous, half-sarcastic ex- 
pression of countenance. 

"Do you really think it is a pirate?" asked 
Eobin, eagerly. 

I really do," replied the captain, " and I fear 
we niay have to run out of our course to avoid her. 
You see, I am a man of peace, and abhor bloodshed, 
therefore I won't fight if I can help it." 

Saying this he gave orders to have the course 
of the steamer changed. 



I 



4 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEK. 12T 

Just then tliere occurred one of those contre- 
temps which don't often happen, hut which, when 
they do, are often prolific of disaster ; an im- 
portant part of the machinery hroke down, and 
the engine, for the moment, was rendered useless. 
It was most unfortunate, for the suspicious craft 
lay to windward, and a light hreeze was blowing 
which carried it steadily towards them, although 
all the sail the steamer possessed was crowded on 
her. 

" Come aft here, Mr. Shipton, and tell your chief 
to come with you. I want to hold a council of 
war," said the captain. 

Summoning the first mate and chief engineer, 
as well as the electricians, the captain went to the 
after part of the quarter-deck, where, seated on the 
taffrail, he deliberated with the extemporised council 
measures for repelling an expected attack. 

What these deliberations tended to, those not of 
the council could not tell, but from the energy of 
the members, and an occasional burst of laughter 
from the group, it was obvious, as Jim Slagg re- 
marked, that "mischief o' some sort was in the 
wind." 

Presently the council broke up, and the members 
went actively belaw, as men do who have a pur- 
pose to carry out promptly. 

Meanwhile the pirate vessel came within range 



128 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



and fired a shot which missed them. The fire was 
not repeated. Evidently they meant to get within 
easy range before trying another shot. 

In a few minutes the electricians came on deck 
with several large coils of copper wire, which they 
uncoiled and distributed mysteriously about the 
sides of the vessel. At the same time several 
lengths of leathern pump hose were laid along the 
deck, and fire-branches or nozzles attached to 
them. 

" Eun out our stern-guns now," said the cap- 
tain, with a grim smile, " and give it 'em hot. 
It won't do to seem to give in too easy. Eun up 
the Union Jack. Don't take aim. I want more 
noise and smoke than mischief — d' ye under- 
stand ?" 

The officer to whom this was addressed, said, 
" Ay, ay, sir," in the usual tone of ready obedience, 
adding, however, in an undertoned growl, "but I 
don't understand, for all that !" 

He obeyed the orders literally, being well 
disciplined, and the result was a sudden and most 
furious cannonade, for the pirate replied with 
vigour, using all the guns he could bring to bear ; 
but no damage was done on either side for some 
time, until at last a ball from the enemy w^ent 
crash through the smoke funnel of the Triton with 
a most sonorous bang ! 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



129 



" That '11 do now," cried the captain, " cease 
firing and haul down the colours." 

If the captain had said, " Cut away the rudder 
and heave the boilers overboard," he could scarcely 
have caused more surprise in his crew, who, by 
his orders, had assembled on deck, every man 
being armed with musket, cutlass, and revolver. 
His orders were strictly and promptly obeyed, 
however. 

By this time the light breeze had fallen and a 
dead calm prevailed, so that the sails of the pirate 
flapped idly against her masts, and her crew were 
seen busily lowering her boats. 

" We could have soon got out of her way if our 
engines had not broke down," growled the captain, 
as he went toward the front of the quarter-deck and 
looked down on the armed men in the waist. 
"My lads," he said, "the blackguards are Malay 
pirates. They are lowering their boats, and will 
be alongside in less than half an hour. I don't 
need to tell you what you '11 have to expect if they 
take us. We must beat 'em off or die; for it's 
better to die sword in hand than to be tortured or 
strangled. Those of you, however, who prefer the 
latter modes of going under may show the white 
feather and enjoy yourselves in your own way. 
IsTow, lads, you know me. I expect obedience to 
orders to the letter. I hate fighting and bloodshed 

I 



130 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



— SO don't kill unless you can't help it. Also, 
take care that you don t touch these copper wires 
on the sides with either finger or foot. If you do 
you'll repent it, for electricians don't like their 
gear handled." 

Turning abruptly round, for the oars of the 
approaching boats could now be distinctly heard, 
the captain asked Sam if his batteries were well 
charged. 

"Chock-full, sir," replied Sam with a broad grin; 
" there 's not a bit of iron all round the ship that 
a man could lay hold of without receiving his 
due !" 

" Grood," said the captain, turning to the chief 
engineer ; " are the hose attached and the boilers 
hot ?" 

" Bubblin' up fit to burst, sir. I 've weighted the 
safety valves to give it force ? " 

Without another word the captain stepped to the 
port gangway, and took off his hat to the advancing 
pirates. The pirate captain, not to be outdone in 
civility, took off his fez and bowed as the boat 
ranged alongside. The captain carefully held out 
one of the man-ropes to his enemy. He grasped it 
and seized the other. 

An instantaneous yell of the most appalling 
nature issued from his mouth, and never before, 
since ship-building began, were a couple of man- 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



131 



ropes thrown off with greater violence ! The pirate 
captain fell back into his boat, and the captain of 
the steamer stepped promptly back to avoid the 
storm of bullets that were let fly at his devoted 
head. At the starboard gangway the chief 
mate performed the same ceremony to another boat 
with a like result. 

The pirates were amazed and enraged, but not 
cowed. "With a wild cheer they made a simul- 
taneous dash at the ship's sides all round. With 
a wilder yell they fell back into their boats,— 
siiocked beyond expression ! A few of them, how- 
ever, chanced to lay hold of ropes or parts of the 
vessel that were not electrified. These gained the 
bulwarks. 

" Shove in some more acid," said the chief elec- 
trician in suppressed excitement to Sam Shipton, 
who stood beside the batteries below. 

" Stir up the fires, lads," cried the chief engineer 
to his men at the boilers beneath, as he stood hold- 
ing a fire-nozzle ready. 

Intensified yells all round told that chemical 
action had not been applied in vain, while the 
pirates who had gained the bulwarks were met 
with streams of boiling water in their faces. Heroes 
may and do face shot and shell coolly without 
flinching, but no hero ever faced boiling water coolly. 
The pirates turned simultaneously and received the 



132 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



streams in rear. Light cotton is but a poor defence 
in such circumstances. They sloped over the sides 
like eels, and sought refuge in the sea. Blazing 
with discomfiture and amazement, but not yet 
dismayed, these ferocious creatures tried the 
assault a second time. Their fury became greater, 
so did the numbers that gained a footing on the 
bulwarks, but not one reached the deck ! The 
battery and the boiler played a part that day which 
it had never before entered into the brain of the 
wildest scientist to conceive. The hissing of the 
hot shower and the vigour of the cold shock were 
only equalled by the unearthly yelling of the foe, 
whose miraculous bounds and plunges formed a 
scene that is altogether indescribable. 

The crew of the steamer stood spell-bound, 
unable to fight even if there had been occasion for 
so doing. The dark-skinned captain became Indian- 
red in the face from suppressed laughter. 

Suddenly a tremor ran through the steamer, as 
if she too were unable to restrain her feelings. During 
the fight — if we may so call it — the engineers had 
been toiling might and main in the buried depths 
of their engine-room; the broken parts of the 
engine had been repaired or refitted, and a throb 
of life had returned to the machinery. In its 
first revolution the screw touched the stern of a 
pirate-boat and turned it upside down. Another 



0 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



133 



boat at the bow was run over. The crews of 
both swam away like ducks, with their long 
knives between their teeth. The other boats 
hauled off. 

" isTow, captain," cried Kobin Wright, who, during 
the whole time, had stood as if transfixed, with a 
cutlass in one hand, a pistol in the other, and 
his mouth, not to mention his eyes, wide open; 
" l^ow, captain, we shall get away without shedding 
a drop of blood !" 

"Yes," replied the captain, "but not without 
inflicting punishment. Port your helm — hard a 
port!" 

" Port it is, sir — hard over," replied the man at 
the wheel, and away went the steamer with a 
grand circular sweep which speedily brought her, 
bow-on, close tr the pirate vessel. 

"Steady^ — so!" said the captain, at the same 
time signalling " full steam " to the engine- 
room. 

The space between the two vessels quickly 
decreased. The part of the pirate crew which had 
been left on board saw and understood. With a 
howl of consternation, every man sprang into the 
sea. Next moment their vessel was cut almost in 
two and sent fathoms down into the deep, whence 
it rose a limp and miserable remnant, flattened out 
upon the waves. 



134 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 

"JSTow/' observed the captain, with a pleasant 
nod, " we 11 leave them to get home the best 
way they can. A boat voyage in such fine 
weather in these latitudes will, do them good." 

Saying which, he resumed his course, and steamed 
away into the regions of the far East. 



) 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 135 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

TELLS OF A SUDDEN AND UNLOOKED-FOR EVENT. 

How often it has been said, " Good for man that 
he does not know what lies before him." If he 
did, we fear he would face his duty with very 
different feehngs from those which usually animate 
him. Certain it is that if Eobin Wright and Sam 
Shipton had known what was before them — when 
they stood one breezy afternoon on the ship's deck, 
casting glances of admiration up at the mountain 
waves of the southern seas, or taking bird's-eye 
views of the valleys between them — their eyes 
would not have glistened with such flashes of 
delight, for the fair prospects they dreamed of were 
not destined to be realised. 

What these prospects were was made plain by 
their conversation. 

"Won't it be a splendid opportunity, Sam, to 
become acquainted with all the outs and ins of 
telegraphy, this laying of lines from island to 
island in the China Seas ?" 



136 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

" It will, indeed, Eobin — a sort of compound or 
alternating land-and-submarine line. At one time 
we shall be using palm-trees for posts and carrying 
wires through the habitations of parrots and 
monkeys, at another we shall be laying them down 
among the sharks and coral groves." 

"By the way," said Eobin, "is it true that 
monkeys may prove to be more troublesome to 
us in these regions than sparrows and crows are 
at home ? " 

" Of course it is, my boy. Have you never heard 
that on some of our Indian lines, baboons, vultures, 
and other heavy creatures have sometimes almost 
broken down the telegraphs by taking exercise and 
roosting on the wires?" 

" Indeed, I hope it won't be so with us. At all 
events, sharks won't be much tempted, I should 
fancy; by submarine cables." 

" There 's no saying, Eobin. They are not parti- 
cular when hungry. By the way, I saw you talking 
with unusual earnestness this morning to Jim Slagg ; 
what was the matter with him ? " 

" Poor fellow ! you 'd scarcely believe it, to look 
at him," replied Eobin, " but the lad is actually 
home-sick." 

" Home-sick ! Why, how 's that ? If we were 
only a few days out from port, or even a week or 
two, I could understand it, but seeing that we are 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



137 



now drawing near to the China Seas, I should have 
thought — " 

" Oh, that 's easily explained/' interrupted Eobin. 
" This is his mother's birthday, it seems, a day that 
has always been kept with much rejoicing, he tells 
me, by his family, and it has brought back home 
and home-life with unusual force to him. With all 
his rough off-handedness, Slagg is a tender-hearted, 
affectionate fellow. Somehow he has taken it into 
his head that this voyage will be disastrous, and 
that he will never see his mother again. I had 
great difficulty in showing him the unreasonable- 
ness of such a belief." 

No doubt you had. It is unreasonable behefs 
that people usually hold with greatest tenacity," 
replied Sam; with a touch of sarcasm. " But tell 
me, have he and Stumps never once quarrelled 
since leaving England ?" 

" iN^ever." 

" I 'm amazed — they are so unlike in every 
way." 

" You would not be surprised if you knew them 
as I do," returned Eobin. " Ever since Slagg gave 
him that thrashing on board the Great Eastern in 
1865, Stumps has been a changed man. It saved 
him from himself, and he has taken such a liking 
to Slagg that nothing will part them. It was that 
made me plead so hard for Stumps to be taken 



138 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



with US, because I felt sure Slagg would not go 
without him, and although we might easily have 
done without Stumps, we could not have got on so 
well without Slagg." 

" I 'm not so sure of that, my boy. Your opinion 
of him is too high, though I admit him to be a first- 
rate youth. Indeed, if it were not so, he should 
not be here. — Was that a shark's fin alongside ?" 

"Yes, I think so. Cook has been throwing 
scraps overboard, I suppose. — See, there goes an 
empty meat-tin." 

As he spoke the article named rose into the air, 
and fell with a splash in the water. At the same 
time Jim Slagg was seen to clamber on the bul- 
warks and look over. 

" Come here — look alive. Stumps ! " he shouted. 

Stumps, whose proper name, it is but fair to 
state, was John Shanks, clambered clumsily to his 
friend's side just in time to see a shark open its 
horrid jaws and swallow the meat-tin. 

" Well now, I never ! " exclaimed Slagg. " He 
didn't even smell it to see if it was to his taste." 

" P'r'aps he 's swallowed so many before," sug- 
gested Stumps, " that he takes for granted it 's all 
right." 

"Well it's on'y flavour; and he has caught a 
Tartar this time," returned the other, "unless, maybe, 
tin acts like pie-crust does on human vitals." 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



139 



The low deep voice of the captain was heard at 
this moment ordering a reef to be taken in the top- 
sails, and then it began to strike Eobin and Sam 
that the breeze was freshening into something like a 
gale, and that there were some ominous-looking 
clouds rising on the windward horizon. Gazing at 
this cloudbank for a few minutes, the captain turned 
and ordered the top-sails to be close-reefed, and 
most of the other sails either furled or reduced to 
their smallest size. 

He was in good time, and the vessel was ready 
for the gale, when it rushed down on them hissing 
like a storm-fiend. 

The good ship bent before the blast like a willow, 
but rose again, and, under the influence of able 
seamanship, went bravely on her course, spurning 
the billows from her swelling bows. 

" What a thing it is to know that there is a good 
hand at the helm in times of danger !" remarked 
Sam as he and our hero stood under the shelter of 
the starboard bulwarks, holding on with both hands 
to the rigging, while the rushing waves tossed them 
on high or let them drop in the troughs of the seas ; 
" I should feel safe with our captain in any circum- 
stances." 

" So should I," said Eobin with enthusiasm, his 
eyes glistening with delight as he gazed on the 
angry ocean. 



140 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 

There was no thought of danger in the mind of 
any one at that moment. A good ship, ably com- 
manded, well manned, and with plenty of sea- room, 
— what more could be desired ? Nevertheless, deadly ' 
peril was close at hand. 

That marvellous little creature — which, in the 
southern seas, builds its little cell, works its little 
day and dies, leaving to succeeding generations of 
its kind to build their little cells and die, each using 
its predecessor's Jiansion as a foundation for its own, 
until pile on pile forms a mass, and mass on mass 
makes a mountain — the coral insect, had reared one ■ 
of its submarine edifices just where the cable-ship 
Triton had to pass that day. For ages man had 
traversed that sea without passing exactly over that 
mountain, and even if he had, it would not have 
mattered, for the mountain had been always many 
fathoms below the surface. But now the decree 
had gone forth. The conjunction of events predes- 
tined had come about. The distance between the 
mountain summit and the ocean surface had been 
reduced to feet. The Triton rose on the top of a 
mighty billow as she reached the fated spot. The 
coral peak rose near the bottom of the water-hollow ^ 
beyond, and down on it the doomed ship went with 
an awful crash ! 

Her speed was checked only an instant, for the 
top of the rock was knocked off by the force of the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



141 



blow, and the ship passed swiftly on, but there 
could be no mistaking the significance of that shock. 
An involuntary shout of alarm from some, — a gasp, 
half of surprise, half of horror, from others, — then a 
rush of active effort when the captain gave orders to 
man the pumps. 

There was urgent need for haste. The mass of 
coral rock had stuck in the hole it had made, else 
had they gone down in a few minutes. As it was, 
the water rushed in furiously, so much so that the 
captain detailed a party of men to construct a raft, 
while the rest relieved each other at the pumps. 
No doubt he was partly urged to this course by the 
consideration that a vessel weighted with telegraph 
cables and other heavy material connected therewith 
could not float long in a leaky condition. 

" Keep close to me, Eobin ; we must sink or swim 
together." 

It was Sam who spoke. He was very pale, but 
his firmly-compressed lips showed no sign of un- 
manly fear. Eobin, on the contrary, taken by 
surprise, and too inexperienced to correctly estimate 
sudden danger, was flushed with the feeling that 
now was the time to do and dare whatever should 
be required of him ! They went to the pumps to- 
gether, where Stumps and Slagg were already at 
work with many others. 

It is surprising how fast and hard men will toil 



142 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



when life depends on the result. There was a cat- 
like activity about the carpenter and his mates as 
they cut, sawed, lashed, and bolted together the 
various spars and plauks which formed the raft. 
In a marvellously short space of time it was ready 
and launched over the side, and towed astern by the 
strongest cable on board, for the danger of parting 
from it in such weather was very great. Knowing 
this they had lashed some casks of pork and other 
provisions to it before launching. 

Still they laboured with unflagging resolution at 
the pumps, for many of those on board were picked 
men, whose sense of honour urged them to strive 
to the uttermost to save the ship, for it was no 
ordinary merchantman, freighted with an ordinary 
cargo, which could easily be replaced as well 
as insured, but a vessel freighted with those 
magic wires which couple continents and unite 
humanity, whose loss might delay, though it could 
not ultimately arrest, the benign and rapid inter- 
course of man with man in all parts of the globe. 

" Keep your eye on Sam and me," whispered 
Kobin to Jim Slagg, finding himself alongside that 
worthy during a spell of rest. " Let us keep 
together, whatever happens." 

Eobin did not quite believe that anything serious 
was going to happen. Some spirits find it as 
difficult to believe in impending disaster as others 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



143 . 



find it to believe in continued safety. It seemed 
so impossible to Eobin, in his inexperience, that 
the strong and still buoyant vessel which had 
borne them so long and bravely should sink ! 
Nevertheless, like the rest, he laboured with a will. 

Slagg took the opportunity to give a similar 
caution to his friend Stumps. 

" She 's sinking, sir," said the carpenter, who had 
been sounding the well, to the captain, about an 
hour later, 

" I know it ; stand by to have the raft hauled 
alongside. Knock off now, lads, there 's no use in 
pumping any more." 

The men ceased, with a deep sigh, and by that 
act the death-warrant of the cable-ship was signed. 

During the next quarter of an hour the crew 
were busy slipping down the cable that held the 
raft. A few ran below to fetch small articles that 
they valued, but by that time the vessel was so low 
in the water, that there was little time to spare, 
and the captain began to urge haste. 

"'Now then, lads, over the side with you," he 
said, chancing to look at Sam Shipton as he spoke ! 

That spirit of heroism which induces men to 
rjesolve to be the last to quit a sinking ship, came 
over Sam just then, and he shrank back. He and 
his chief were in charge of the telegraph, apparatus. 
It would be disgraceful to quit until all on board 



144 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



had left. He laid his hand on the strong cable that 
held the raft and said, " I '11 stay to the last, sir, 
and cast off the rope, if you 11 allow me." 

" We don't cast off ropes in such circumstances," 
replied the captain; "we cut 'em." 

Sam was silenced, but not the less resolved to 
hold to his point, if possible. He still held back, 
while the captain, being busy with the others, 
some of whom were rather too eager to go, paid no 
further attention to him. Eobin, Slagg, and Stumps, 
recognising Sam as their leader, fell behind him 
and kept close. 

At last all were on the raft, except the captain 
and the four friends. 

" Now, then, come along," said the former, some- 
what impatiently. 

" After you, sir," said Sam, with a polite bow. 

" Overboard, sir ! " shouted the captain, in a 
voice that would brook no denial, and Sam at once 
stepped on the bulwark, for he was not naturally 
rebellious. 

Just as he spoke the rope broke, and the raft 
fell astern. 

" Jump ! jump ! it 's your only chance," cried the 
captain, at the same moment springing into the sea. 

Sam was on the point of following, when an 
exclamation from Slagg checked him. Looking 
quickly back, he saw that Eobin was not there. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



145 



Our hero, while modestly standing "behind his 
comrades, had suddenly remembered that the small 
bible given him by his mother was lying on the 
shelf at the side of his berth. He would have lost 
anything rather than that. There was yet time to 
fetch it, so, without a word, he turned and sprang 
below, supposing that he had ample time. 

"Eobin! Eobin!" shouted Sam and Slagg to- 
gether, at the top of their voices. 

" Coming ! coming ! " reached them faintly from 
below, but Eobin did' not come. The hasty 
summons induced him to leap over a chest in 
returning. He struck his head violently against a 
beam, and fell back stunned. 

With another wild shout his friends rushed down 
the companion hatch to hasten his movements by 
force. They found him almost insensible. Lifting 
him quickly, they carried him on deck, and bore 
him to the stern of the vessel. 

"Eobin! Eobin!" cried Sam, in an agony of 
impatience — for the raft was by that time far 
astern, besides which the shades of evening were 
beginning to descend — " do try to rally. We must 
swim. We 're almost too late. Can you do it ?" 

" Yes, yes, I can swim like a duck," cried Eobin, 
rising and staggering towards the bulwarks. 

" But / can't swim at all ! " cried Stumps in a 
voice of horror. 

K 



146 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



Sam stopped as if suddenly paralysed. Then, 
laying hold of Eobin, held him back. He felt, as 
he looked at the dark heaving sea and the now- 
distant raft, that it was not possible for him and 
Slagg to save both their injured and their helpless 
comrade. 

" Too late !" he said in a voice of despair, as he 
sat down and for a moment covered his face with 
his hands. Slagg looked at him with a bewildered 
rather than a despairing expression. 

" So, we 11 have to sink together since we can't 
swim together," he said at last, with a touch of 
reckless vexation, as he gazed at the naturally 
stupid and by that time imbecile face of his friend 
Stumps. 

" Come, only cowards give way to despair," cried 
Sam, starting up. " We have one chance yet, God 
be praised, but let 's work with a will, boys, for the 
time is short." 



I 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 147 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THK RAFT. 

Sam Shipton's one chance did not seem a bright 
one, but, with characteristic energy, he proceeded to 
avail himself of it at once. 

When the raft was launched over the side, as 
described, the carpenters had embarked upon it 
with the rest of the ship's crew, dropping their tools 
on the deck beside the mass of unused material 
of ropes, spars, planks, etc., as they left. Four 
of the spars were pretty equal in length. Sam 
selected them hastily and laid them on the deck in 
the form of a square, or oblong frame. Then he 
seized an axe. 

"Unravel some of the ropes, Eobin," he cried. 
" You two select some planks as near ten feet long 
as possible. Quick — ask no questions, but do what 
I teU you." 

^ Sam Shipton was one of those who' hold the 
opinion that every man born into the world, 
whether gentle or simple, should learn a trade. 



148 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEK. 



He had acted on his belief and taught himself 
that of a carpenter, so that he wielded the axe with 
skill, and gave his orders with the precision of one 
who knows what he is about. His comrades, 
although not trained to any special trade, were 
active handy fellows, with the exception, indeed, of 
John Shanks, whose fingers were usually described 
as " thumbs," and whose general movements were 
clumsy; but Stumps had a redeeming quality to 
set against defects — he was willing. 

With a few powerful well-directed blows, Sam 
cut four deep notches into the two longest of the 
selected spars, near their ends, at equal distances 
from each other. Into these he laid the ends of 
the two shorter spars, thus forming a frame-work. 

" Twelve feet by ten, not a bad raft," he 
muttered, as if to himself, while he snatched a rope 
from the bundle of those disentangled by Eobin. 
" Take a rope of same size you two, and lash the 
opposite corners as you see me doing. Stumps will 
go on selecting the planks." 

Sam jerked out his words with as much rapidity 
and force as he applied to the labour of his hands. 
There was something quite tremendous in his 
energy — and little wonder, for, as he glanced now 
and then along the deck, he saw that the ship was 
rapidly settling down to her final dive, and that the 
closing scene would be sudden. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



149 



Powerfully impressed by his example, the others 
worked in total silence and with all their might, for 
Sam's conduct, far more than the appearance of 
things, convinced them of their danger. 

" The planks now, Stumps ! Drive in as many 
of these clamps as you can find, Slagg — so (he set 
the example) — we've no time to bore holes for 
bolts. A plank now ; that 's it ! Hand some 
nails — no, the biggest nails and the big hammer. 
Mind your fingers ! " 

Down came the heavy hammer on a four-inch 
nail, which went half through the thick plank. 
Two more such blows and the iron head was 
buried in the wood. Six planks sufficed to cover 
the frame. They were laid lengthwise with nails 
just sufficient to hold them. A piece of thick rope 
passed four times round the entire fabric still 
further secured them in position. 

"Tie a lot of these nails in a bit of sailcloth, 
Slagg, and fix 'em to the raft — to one of the spars, 
not the planks. Do the same with a saw, hammer, 
axe, and cask of biscuit — water, too ; don't forget 
water. Make a belt of a bit of rope, Eobin, and 
stick that small axe in it. Have it handy." 

While he spoke Sam did not look up, but gave 
all his attention to the tightening, with a hand- 
spike, of the knot on the thick rope that bound 
the raft together ; for we may as well inform those 



150 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 

who don't know it, that the tying of a knot on a 
cable is not managed in the same way or with the 
same ease that a similar operation is performed on 
a piece of twine. 

" But how shall we lift it over the side ? " asked 
Stumps, becoming suddenly alive to a difficulty. 

"Help me to haul on this rope and you shall 
see/' said Sam. 

He ran to the side, lifted a coil of rope off its 
belaying-pin, threw it on the deck, cut the rope 
clear, and hauled it to the raft, to one end of which 
he made it fast. 

It was the strong rope, by means of which one of 
the mizzen yards was braced, and was rove through 
a block attached to the outward end of the yard. 

" Hoist away now — with a will ! " 

" Hold on," cried Slagg, stuffing a mass of sail- 
cloth violently, by means of a handspike, under- 
neath the binding rope of the raft. 

" There now — yo ho ! heave ho — o ! " 

Up went the end of the little ark of safety, and 
v/hen one end was raised very little force was 
required to push it over. 

"Hold on! hold on! hold — o — o — on!" yelled 
Stumps, straining to prevent the raft from leav- 
ing the ship. ' 

" No, no. — Let go ! let go ! let go — o — o 1" roared 
Sam. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



151 



Stumps did let go and almost fell from the com- 
bined effect of his efforts and despair, as the raft 
swung off, splashed into the sea far out of reach, 
and hung half suspended from the yard-arm. 

" It 's all up with us," gasped Stumps. 

" ISTot yet, but it will be all up with us in two 
minutes," returned Sam, unable to repress a smile 
even at that moment. 

"What d'ye mean ?" said Stumps in amazement. 
"How can we ever git at it now ?" 

" Why, stoopid," said Slagg, " don't you see that 
we've only to go up the mast, out on the yard- 
arm, and slip down the rope." 

While he was speaking, Eobin, by Sam's orders, 
was performing the feat referred to. 

" Look sharp !" he cried, turning to the others. 

A heavy lurch of the ship caused their breasts to 
leap almost as fast as their bodies, for they were all 
more or less aware of the danger of the ship sinking 
before they could get clear of her. The darkness, 
too, was, as we have said, increasing by that time, 
though it was still light enough to enable them to 
see what they were about. 

In a few minutes they all had gained the end of 
the yard-arm, slipped down the rope, and got upon 
the raft, but it was difficult to hold on, because at 
each heave of the ship, the fore-end of the raft was 
raised quite out of the sea, and then let fall with 



152 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



considerable violence. As soon as Sam reached it, 
lie bade Eobin cut adrift with his axe, so great was 
the heave ; but at the moment the raft hung almost 
perpendicularly in the air, and Eobin could do 
nothing but cling to the rope that bound it. Next 
instant it again fell flat on the sea. 
" ISTow — cut !" cried Sam. 

The rope was severed with one blow ; almost at 
the same instant the stern of the Triton flew up 
with a degree of violence that no wave could 
account for. It was her last fling. Instantly after 
she went down head foremost. The masts, by good 
fortune, leaned away from the raft at the time, else 
they would have been struck by the yards, or 
involved in the rigging. As it was they did not 
escape. The vast whirlpool caused by the sinking 
ship drew them in with irresistible power. Tor 
one moment the horrified youths saw a dark green 
vortex towards which they rushed. Another 
moment, and they beheld a green funnel whirling 
round them as they sank into midnight dark- 
ness, while an ocean of roaring water filled their 
ears. 

Who shall attempt to describe the feelings or 
sensations of that moment ! The one absorbiag 
idea of self-preservation was of course dominant, 
coupled with an intolerable feeling that the upper 
air could never be regained. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



153 



It was reached, however, by all of them. First 
by Sam Shipton, who shot waist-high above the 
sea with a loud gasp, and struck out wildly. Then, 
recovering presence of mind, he swam more gently, 
and looked eagerly round. He was immediately 
followed by Eobin and Slagg. Last of all by 
Stumps, who came up legs foremost, and, on turning 
other end up, saluted them with a roar that would 
not have shamed a monster of the deep. But the 
roar was cut short by a gurgle, as, in his frantic 
struggles, he sank himself again. 

Observing this, and seeing that the others were 
comparatively self-possessed, Sam made towards 
his drowning comrade. The poor fellow, catching 
sight of him as he came near, made a clutch at him, 
but Sam was well aware of the danger of being 
grasped by a drowning man. He swerved aside, 
and Stumps sank with a gurgle of despair. Twice 
again did he rise and sink. Once more he rose. 
With a rapid stroke Sam swam behind him and 
caught him under the armpits. Violently did the 
poor fellow strive to turn round and clasp his 
preserver, but Sam, treading water, held him easily 
at arm's-length with his head just above the surface. 
As long as he struggled nothing more could be done 
for him ; Sam therefore put his mouth as near to 
his ear as possible and shouted — 

" Stop struggling ! else I'll let you go !" 



154 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 

It was probably as much the tone of Sam's voice 
as the sense of these words that calmed Stumps. 
At all events he instantly lay, or rather hung, per- 
fectly limp and still. 

"Now," continued Sam, "you are quite safe if 
you do what I tell you. If you don't you're a 
dead man ! D' you understand ?" 

" Yes," gasped Stumps. 

" Let your hands and arms lie flat on the water ! 
Don't try to raise your head farther than I let you ! 
Keep your feet still! Let yourself hang helpless 
while I hold you and look round for the raft." 

It was obvious that Stumps had regained self- 
command, for as each of these orders was shouted in 
his ear, in the tones of a sergeant-major, he obeyed 
with eager, almost ludicrous, promptitude. 

"The raft is here, close at hand," said a voice 
close to Sam's ear. 

It was Robin who had discovered him at that 
moment. 

" Is Slagg safe ?" asked Sam. 

" Here he is, all right," said the worthy referred to, 
puf&ng and choking as he swam up. 

" Keep off' — don't get in front of him," said Sam, 
in a warning voice. "He mayn't have recovered 
self-restraint enough yet to refrain from grasping 
you. Guide me to the raft, Eobin, while I swim on 
my back, and see that you don't let it hit me on the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



155 



head wlien I come close. You and Slagg help each 
other on, and then help me with Stumps." 

Nothing could have calmed Stumps more than 
the cool, firm way in which these orders were given, 
so that he allowed himself to lie like a log while his 
deliverer drew him gently backwards until the back 
of his head rested on his bosom. Sam then struck 
out gently with his legs ; Eobin turned him with a 
push in the right direction, and thus, swimming on 
his back, he reached the raft. Slagg and Eobin hav- 
ing already helped each other upon it, grasped his 
hair. At once he freed one hand and caught the rope 
that bound the raft. Stumps naturally slewed round, 
so that his mouth and nose went for a moment under 
water. Fancying that he was forsaken, he caught 
Sam round the neck, drew himself up, and gave a 
terrific yell. 

" Ha ! you may choke me now, if you can," 
muttered Sam, as he grasped the rope with both 
hands, "only, the longer you hold on to me the 
longer you will be of getting out of the water." 

The terrified lad still retained sufficient sense to 
appreciate the force of the remark. Looking up 
as well as he could through his dishevelled hair, he 
held out one hand to Slagg, who grasped it firmly. 
Eeleasing Sam, with some hesitation he made a 
convulsive grasp at Eobin with the other hand. 
Eobin met him half way. A loud " heave ho !" and a 



156 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



I 



mighty pull brought him out of the sea, and sent him 
with a squash on the boards of the raft, where he 
lay gripping the ropes with his hands as with a vice. 

Before his rescuers could turn to aid Sam, he stood 
panting beside them. 

"Thank God," said Sam, "for this deliverance !" 

"Amen!" was the earnest and prompt response 
from the others. 

Yet it seemed but a temporary deliverance, for 
when these castaways looked around them, they saw 
nothing but a heaving ocean and a darkening sky, 
with the tiny raft as the only visible solid speck in 
all the watery waste. Compared, however, with the 
extremity of danger through which they had just 
passed, the little platform on which they stood 
seemjfed to them an ample refuge — so greatly do cir- 
cumstances alter our estimate of facts ! 

But they had not time to think much, as may be 
easily understood, for a great deal still remained to 
be done. Their little ark was by no means secure. 
We have said that only enough of nails had been 
driven into it to hold the planks to the framework, 
but not to withstand rough treatment. Indeed, 
during the plunge two of the planks had been torn 
off, but the binding rope held them to their places, 
as Sam had foreseen. 

Very little daylight now remained, so that not a 
moment was to be lost. 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEE. 



157 



" 'No sign of the big raft," said Sam, stooping to 
unfasten the hammer and packet of nails, after 
taking one quick, anxious glance round the 
horizon, 

" But it may be not far off after all," said Slagg, 
kneeling down to aid his comrade, while Stumps, by 
that time recovered, assisted Eobin to tighten the 
ropes that held the pork barrel. " With such poor 
light it 'ud be hard to make out a flat thing like 
that a-kickin' in the hollows of the seas." 

" But you forget," returned Sam, " that it must 
be a-kickin' on the top o' the sea as well as in the 
hollows. Another nail — thanks. However, I don't 
expect to see it again." 

" Well, now, I expects to see it in the mornin' 
not far off," said Slagg. " Is the water-cask fast, 
Eobin ?" 

"All right — and the pork too." 

"And the sail. Just give it an extra shove 
under the ropes, Eobin. We 'd be badly off if we 
lost it." 

" I don't see what good a sail can do us," said 
Stumps, who had now quite recovered. 

"Not as a sail, Stumpy," replied Slagg, whose 
spirit soon recovered elasticity, "though even in 
that way it may help us, but as a blanket we 
shall appreciate it before long." 

Slagg was right. After the planking had been 



■ ! 

! 

158 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

secured and the rope refastened, those unfortunates 
found themselves in an unenviable position. The 
gale had indeed abated somewhat, though the heav- 
ing of the great waves was little less tremendous, 
but the night had settled down into a state of 
pitchy darkness, so that they could barely see each 
other's faces, while the seas continually washed 
over them, obliging them to hold on to the ropes 
for fear of being washed away. 

In such circumstances sleep was out of the 
question, yet they stood sorely in need of rest. 

" JSTow we '11 see what 's to be done wi' the sail," 
said Slagg, after they had been seated some time 
doing nothing. " Sleep I want, an' sleep I '11 have, 
so lend a hand, boys." 

He drew out the sail with some trouble, so well 
had it been stuffed in, and bade the others hold and 
prevent it from flapping while he fastened the 
corners down. He did not arrange it like a tent, 
but spread it as flat as possible, doubling the super- 
fluous edges inward, so that it presented little or no 
obstruction to the free passage of wind or water 
over them. 

This done, they all crept underneath, and found 
it to be a much snugger den than they had ex- 
pected, for the two casks prevented their heads 
from being pressed down when a few tons of water 
rolled over them — as occasionally happened. | 



V 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 159 

Still they did not dare to sleep until each had 
fastened a rope round his waist and bound himself 
to the flooring. Having done so, each laid himself 
alongside of a turn of the binding cable, and, em- 
bracing that affectionately with both arms, laid his 
head on the planks and shut his eyes. 

Many and varied are the conditions under which 
healthy members of the human family seek and 
find repose, but we venture to think that few con- 
ditions have ever been found which were more 
unfavourable to sleep than that which has just 
been described. 

^Nevertheless, they were met promptly by slumber 
most profound, as they lay wet and weary on the 
little raft that disastrous night, on the dark and 
surging breast of the Southern Sea. 



160 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEli. 



CHAPTER XV. 

LIFE ON THE EAPT. 

To awake "all at sea" — -in other words, ignorant 
of one's locality — is a rather common experience, 
but to awaken both at and in the sea, in a similar 
state of oblivion, is not so common. 

It was the fortune of Eobin Wright to do so on 
the first morning after the day of the wreck. 

At first, when he opened his eyes, he fancied, 
from the sound of water in his ears, that it must 
have come on to rain very heavily, but, being re- 
gardless of rain, he tried to fall asleep again. Then 
he felt as if there must be a leak in his berth some- 
where, he was so wet ; but, being sleepy, he shut 
his eyes, and tried to shut his senses against mois- 
ture. !N"ot succeeding, he resolved to turn on his 
other side, but experienced a strange resistance- to 
that effort. Waxing testy, he wrenched himself 
round, and in so doing kicked out somewhat im- 
patiently. This, of course, woke him up to the real 
state of the case. It also awoke Slagg, who received 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



161 



the kick on his shins. He, delivering a cry of 
pain straight into Sam Shipton's ear, caused that 
youth to fling out his fist, which fell on Stumps's 
nose, and thus in rapid succession were the 
sleepers roused effectually to a full sense of their 
condition. 

" It 's cold," remarked Stumps, with chattering 
teeth. 

" You should be thankful that you 're alive to 
feel the cold, you ungrateful creetur," said Slagg. 

" I am thankful, Jim," returned the other humbly, 
as he sought to undo the rope that held him fast ; 
" but you know a feller can scarcely express thanks 
or — or — otherwise half asleep, an' his teeth goin' 
like a pair o' nut- crackers." 

"The wind is evidently down," remarked Sam, 
who had already undone his lashings. "Here, 
Eobin, help me to untie this corner of the sail. I 
had no idea that sleeping with one's side in a pool 
of water would make one so cold and stiff." 

" If it had bin a pool, Mr. Shipton," said Slagg, 
"it wouldn't have made you cold; 'cause why? you'd 
have made it warm. But it was the sea washin' 
out and in fresh that kep' the temperater low — - 
d'ee see ?" 

" What a cargo o' rheumatiz we 've been a-layin' 
in this night for old age," said Stumps ruefully, as 
he rubbed his left shoulder. ' 

L 



162 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEll. 



Throwing off the sail, Sam stood up and looked 
round, while an exclamation of surprise and pleasure 
broke from him. The contrast between the night 
and morning was more than usually striking. Not 
only had darkness vanished and the wind gone 
down, but there was a dead calm which had changed 
the sea into a sheet of undulating glass, and the 
sun had just risen, flooding the sky with rosy light, 
and tipping the summit of each swell with gleam- 
ing gold. The gentle, noiseless heaving of the long 
swell, so far from breaking the rest of nature, 
rather deepened it by suggesting the soft breath- 
ings of slumber. There were a few gulls float- 
ing each on its own image, as if asleep, and one 
great albatross soared slowly in the bright sky, 
as if acting the part of sentinel over the resting 
sea. . 

"How glorious !" exclaimed Eobin, as, with flash- 
ing eyes, he gazed round the scarce perceptible 
horizon. 

" How hard to believe," said Sam, in a low 
voice, " that we may have been brought here to 
die." 

" But surely you do not think our case so des- 
perate V said Eobin. 

" I hope it is not, but it may be so." 

" God forbid," responded Eobin earnestly. 

As he spoke his arm pressed the little bible which 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 163 

he had rescued from the wreck. Thrusting his 
hand into his bosom he drew it out. 

''Darling mother !" he said, "when she gave me 
this she told me to consult it daily, but especially in 
times of trouble or danger. I '11 look into it now, 
Sam." 

He opened the book, and, selecting the verse that 
first met his eye, read : " In all their afdiction he 
was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved 
them ; in his love and in his pity he redeemed 
them ; and he bare them and carried them all the 
days of old." 

"That's a grand word for us, isn't it? — from 
Isaiah," said Eobin. 

"Well, what do you make of it?" asked Sam, 
whose religious education had not been attended to 
as weU as that of his friend. 

" That our God is full of love, and pity, and 
sympathy, so that we have nothing to fear," said 
Eobin. 

" But surely you can't regard that as a message 
to us when you know that you turned to it by 
mere chance," said Sam, 

" I do regard it as a special message to us," re- 
turned Eobin with decision. 

"And what if you had turned up an entirely 
unsuitable or inapplicable verse?" said Sam. 

" Then I should have concluded that God had no 



164: THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



special message for us just now, but left us to that 
general comfort and instruction contained through- 
out the whole word. When, however, special 
comfort is sought and found, it seems to me un- 
grateful to refuse it." 

" But I don't refuse it, Eobin," returned Sam ; 
" I merely doubt whether it is sent to us or 
not." 

"Why, Sam, all the bible was sent to us for 
comfort and instruction." 

" True — true. I have not thought much on that 
subject, Eobin, but I'll try to believe at present 
that you are right, for we stand much in need of 
strong hope at all events. Here we are, none of us 
knows how far from the nearest land, with little 
food and less water, on a thing that the first stiff 
breeze may knock to pieces, without shelter and 
without compass !" 

" Without shelter and compass, Mr. Shipton !" 
said Jim Slagg, who had hitherto listened in silence 
to the conversation; "why, what d'ye call this?" 
(taking hold of the sail). "Ain't that shelter 
enough, and won't the sun guide us by day and 
the stars by night. It seems to me that you 're too 
despondin', Mr. Shipton." 

" Don't ' mister ' me any more, Slagg. It was all 
very well aboard ship where we had our relative 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. .165 

positions, but now we are comrades in distress, and 
mnst be on an equal footing." 

" Very good," replied Slagg, looking round in his 
comrades' faces, and raising his voice as if making 
a speech. Bein' equal, as you say, I takes the 
liberty o' callin' a general meetin' o' this free and — 
if I may be allowed the expression — easy Eepublic. 
Moreover, I move myself into the chair and second 
the motion, which, nobody objectin', is carried 
unanimously. Gentlemen, the business of this 
here meetin' is to appoint a commander to this 
here ship, an' what could be more in accordance 
with the rule o' three — not to mention the rules o' 
four and common sense — than a Shipton takin' 
command. Who's goin' to make the first resloo- 
tion?" 

Entering into the spirit of the thing, Eobin 
moved that Samuel Shipton be appointed to com- 
mand the ship and the party, with the title of 
captain. 

"And without pay," suggested Slagg. 

"And I move," said Stumps, who was just 
beginning to understand the joke, though a little 
puzzled by the fact that it was done in earnest, 
" I move that Eobin Wright be first leftenant." 

" Bray vo. Stumps ! " cried Slagg, " your intellec' 
is growin'. It on'y remains to appoint you ship's 
monkey and maid-of- all- work — specially dirty 



166 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

work — and, then, with a hearty vote o' thanks to 
myself for my conduct in the chair, to vacate the 
same an' dissolve the meetin'." 

These matters having been satisfactorily settled, 
the castaways proceeded to prepare breakfast, and 
while this was being done the recently appointed 
captain looked once more anxiously round in the 
hope of seeing the large raft with their late ship- 
mates on it, but it was not to be seen. Neither 
raft, ship, nor any other sign of man was visible on 
all the glittering sea. 

Breakfast was not a tempting meal. The biscuits 
were, indeed, as good as ship's biscuits ever are, 
and when moistened with sea water formed a com- 
paratively pleasant as well as strengthening food ; 
but the barrel of pork was raw; they had no 
means of cooking it, and had not yet experienced 
those pangs of hunger which induce men to luxuriate 
in anything that will allay the craving. They 
therefore breakfasted chiefly on biscuit, merely 
making an attempt, with wry faces, to swallow a 
little pork. 

Observing this, Sam said, in a half -jocular 
manner : — 

" I^ow, my lads, it is quite clear to me that in 
taking command of this ship, my first duty is to 
point out the evils that will flow from unrestrained 
appetite for biscuit ; — also to insist on the cultiva- 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



167 



tion of a love for raw pork. You have no notion 
liow good it is when fairly believed in. Anyhow 
you'll have to try, for it won't do to eat up all 
the biscuit, and have to feed at last on pure 
pork." 

" I calls it impure pork," said Slagg ; " hows'- 
ever, capting, you Ve on'y to give the word and 
we obey, P'r'aps the best way '11 be to put us on 
allowance." 

This suggestion was at once acted on, and a con- 
siderable part of that bright day was spent by Sam 
and Eobin in calculating how much pork should go 
to a biscuit, so that they should diminish in an 
equal ratio, and how much of both it would be safe 
to allow to each man per diem, seeing that they 
might be many days, perhaps even weeks, at sea. 
While the " of&cers " were thus engaged, Slagg and 
his friend Stumps busied themselves in making a 
mast and yard out of one of the planks — split in two 
for the purpose — and fitting part of their sail to the 
same. 

Evening found them with the work done, a small 
sail hoisted on the rude mast, the remaining part 
of the canvas fitted more securely as a covering, 
and the apportioned meal before them. But the 
sail hung idly from its yard and flapped gently 
to and fro as the little ark rose and sank on the 
swell, for the calm still prevailed and the gorgeous 



168 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

sunset, with its golden clouds and bright blue sky, 
was so faithfully reflected in the sea, that they 
seemed to be floating in the centre of a crystal ball 
which had been dipped in the rainbow. 

When night descended, the scene was, if pos- 
sible, still more impressive, for although the bright 
colours had vanished, the castaways still floated in 
the centre of a dark crystal universe, whose unutter- 
able depths were radiant with stars of varied size 
and hue. 

Long they sat and gazed in solemn admiration at 
the scene, talking in subdued tones of past, present, 
and future, until their eyes refused to do their 
office and the heavy lids began to droop. Then, 
reluctantly, they crept beneath the sail-cloth cover- 
ing and lay down to rest. 

The planks were hard, no doubt, but our cast- 
aways were hardy ; besides, a few folds of the 
superfluous portions of the large sail helped to 
soften the planks here and there. 

"Kow, boys," said Slagg, as he settled himself 
with a long-drawn sigh, " the on'y thing we wants 
to make us perfectly happy is a submarine tele- 
graph cable 'tween this an' England, to let us 
say good night to our friends ashore, an' hope 
they won't be long in sending out to search for 
us." 

It is sad to be obliged to record that, Slagg's 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 169 



companions being already asleep, this tremendous 
and original piece of pleasantry was literally cast 
upon the waters, where it probably made no im- 
pression whatever on the inhabitants of the 
slumbering sea. 



170 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

IN WHICH WILL BE FOUND MORE SURPRISES THAN ONE. 

Events of the most singular description are often 
prefaced by incidents of the most commonplace 
character. Who so inexperienced in the vicissi- 
tudes of life as not to know this ! 

Early in the morning that succeeded their second 
night on the raft, Eobin Wright awoke with a very 
commonplace, indeed a vulgar, snore ; we might 
almost call it a snort. Such as it was, however, it 
proved to be a most important link in the chain of 
events which it is our province to narrate. 

To explain : It must be understood that John 
Shanks, or Stumps, among other eccentricities, 
practised sprawling in his sleep, spreading himself 
abroad in inconceivable attitudes, shooting out an 
arm here, or a leg there, to the alarm or indignation 
of bedfellows, insomuch that, when known, bed- 
fellows refused to remain with him. 

Aware of Stumps's propensity, Slagg had so 
arranged that his friend should lie at the stern of 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



171 



the raft with two strands of the binding-cable 
between him and Eobin, who lay next to him. 
During the first part of the night, Stumps, either 
overcome by weariness or subdued by his friends' 
discourses on the stellar world, behaved pretty well. 
Only once did he fling out and bestow an unmerited 
blow on the pork-barrel. But, about daybreak, he 
began to sprawl, gradually working his way to the 
extreme edge of the raft, where a piece of wood, 
nailed there on purpose, prevented him from rolling 
off altogether. It did not, however, prevent his 
tossing one of his long legs over the edge, which he 
accordingly did. The leg and foot were naked. 
He preferred to sleep so, even when bedless, having 
been brought up in shoe-and-stockingless society. 
With his foot dipping lightly in the wave, he pro- 
longed his repose. 

They were slipping quietly along at the time 
under the influence of a steady though gentle breeze, 
which had sprung up and filled their sail soon after 
they lay down to rest. An early shark, intent on 
picking up sea- worms, observed Stumps's foot, and 
licked his lips, no doubt. He sank immediately for 
much the same reason that little boys retire to take 
a race before a leap. Turning on his back, accord- 
ing to custom, he went at the foot like a submarine 
thunderbolt. 

Now, it was at that precise moment that Robin 



172 



THE BATTEHY AND THE BOILEE. 



Wriglit snored, as aforesaid. The snore awoke 
Stumps, who had another sprawl, and drew up his 
leg gently — oh, how gently compared with what he 
would have done had he known what you know, 
reader ! E"evertheless, the action was in time, else 
would he have had, for the rest of his life, a better 
title than heretofore to his nickname. As it was, 
the nose and lips of the slimy monster struck the 
youth's foot and slid up the side of his leg. 

Hideous was the yell with which Stumps received 
the salute. Acrobatic was the tumble with which 
he rolled over his comrades, and dire was the alarm 
created in all their hearts as they bounced from 
under the respective corners of their covering, and 
stood up, aghast ! 

" You twopenny turnip," said Slagg, " why did 
you screech like — " 

He stopped. There was no need to finish the 
question, for the fin of the disappointed shark, 
describing angry zig-zags in the w^ater close by, 
furnished a sufficient answer. 

" He has only grazed me," said Stumps, feeling 
his leg anxiously. 

" Only grazed you ! rather say crazed you," 
returned Sam, " for a cry like that could only come 
from a madman. What were you doing ? — washing 
your feet in the sea ?" 

" No, not exactly," replied Stumps, somewhat 



■ 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 173 

abashed, " but one of my legs got over the end of the 
raft somehow, and was trailing in the water." 

" Hallo ! I say, look there, Sam !" said Eobin, with 
sudden animation, pointing to the horizon straight 
ahead of them ; " is that the big raft or a ship ?" 

" Neither, Eobin," replied Sam, after a prolonged 
and earnest gaze ; " it must be an island. What do 
you think, Slagg V* 

The incident of the shark was almost totally for- 
gotten in the excitement caused by this new dis- 
covery. For some time Slagg and all the others 
gazed intently without uttering a word. Then Slagg 
looked round with a deep sigh. 

" Yes, it's a island," he said ; "no doubt about that." 

" What a blessing !" exclaimed Eobin, with heart- 
felt emotion. 

" Well, that depends," said Sam, with a shake of 
the head. " Islands in the China seas are not always 
places of refuge — at least for honest people." 

" By no means," added Slagg ; " I Ve heard say that 
the pirates there are about the wust set o' cut- 
throats goin' — though I don't myself believe there 's 
much difference atween one set and another." 

The light wind which had carried the raft slowly 
over the sea, while they were asleep, now freshened 
into a stiff breeze, and tested the qualities of their 
craft severely ; but, with a little strengthening — an 
extra turn of a rope or an additional nail — here and 



174 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



there, it held pretty well together. At breakfast, 
which was served according to regulation, they 
discussed their situation. 

" You see," said Sam, " this may turn out to be a 
small barren island, in which case we shall have to 
leave it and trust to falling in with some vessel ; or 
it may be inhabited by savages or pirates, in which 
case we shall have to leave it from prudential 
motives, if they will allow us to do so. In any case, 
we won't begin by being extravagant with the pro- 
visions to-day." 

As they drew near to the island, the probability 
of its being inhabited became greater, because, 
although solitary, and, according to Sam's amateur 
calculations, far remote from other lands, it presented 
a bold and fertile aspect. It was not, indeed, large 
in circumference, but it rose to a considerable height, 
and was covered with rich vegetation, above which 
waved numerous groups of the cocoa-nut palm. A 
band of light yellow sand fringed the shore, on which 
the waves roiled in a still lighter fringe of foam, 
while two or three indentations seemed to indicate 
the existence of creeks or openings into the interior. 

With eager gaze the castaways watched this 
island as they slowly approached it — the minuter 
beauties of rock and dell and leafy copse brightening 
into view as the sun mounted the clear blue sky. 

" What I have thought or dreamed of sometimes. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 175 



when dear motlier used to speak of heaven/' 
murmured Eobin, as if communing with himself. 

" Well, I have not thought much of heaven/' 
said Sam, "but I shouldn't wonder if it's some- 
thing like the paradise from which Adam and Eve 
were driven." 

"There's no sign o' natives as yet/' said Slagg, 
who, regardless of these remarks, had been gazing 
at the island with eyes shaded by his hand. 

" Yes there is ; yonder is one sitting on the 
rocks," said Stumps ; " don't you see him move V 

" That 's not a native/' returned Slagg, " it 's too 
long in the back for a human being. It 's a big 
monkey — a gorilla, maybe. Did you ever hear tell 
of gorillas being in them regions ?" 

" I rather think not," said Sam ; " and to my 
mind it looks more like a rock than anything else." 

A rock it proved to be, to the discomfiture of 
Slagg and Stumps ; but the rock was not without 
interest, for it was soon seen that a rope was 
attached to it, and that the rope stretching across 
the entrance to a creek was lost in the foliage on 
the side opposite to the rock. 

" Why, I do believe," said Sam, suddenly, in an 
impressive whisper, " that there is a vessel of some 
sort at the other end of that rope, behind the point, 
partly hid by the trees. Don't you see the top of 
her masts ?" 



176 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



After long and earnest gazing, and much, 
whispered conversation — though there was no 
occasion for caution at such a distance from the 
land — they came to the conclusion that a vessel 
lay concealed just within the mouth of the creek 
towards which the wind was driving them, and 
that, as they apparently had not been discovered 
by those who owned the vessel, their wisest course 
would be to land, if possible without attracting at- 
tention, somewhat farther along the coast. 

" But how is that to be done," asked Eobin, " as 
we have neither oar nor rudder ?" 

" Nothing easier," returned Slagg, seizing the axe 
and wrenching up the plank that had prevented 
Stumps from finding a watery grave, " I 've on'y 
got to cut a handle at one end, an' we 've got a oar 
at once." 

In a few minutes the handy youth converted the 
piece of plank into a rude oar, with which he 
steered the raft, so that it gradually drew to the 
southward of the creek where the strange vessel 
lay, and finally took the land in another inlet not 
far distant. 

It was evident, from the silence around, that no 
one was stirring in the vessel, and that their ap- 
proach had not been perceived. Congratulating 
themselves on this piece of good fortune, they 
lowered their sail, drew the raft under the bushes, 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER 



\vliicli in some parts of the inlet came close down 
to the sea, and then hurried stealthily through 
a palm -grove towards the vessel. They reached 
the margin of the grove in a few minutes, and 
there discovered that the stranger was apparently 
a Chinese craft, but whether a trading -vessel, 
or smuggler, or pirate, they had no means of 
knowing. 

As they lay flat on their faces in the rank grass, 
peeping through the luxuriant undergrowth, they 
could see that two men paced the deck with 
musket on shoulder as if on guard, but no other 
human beings were visible. 

Shall we go forward and trust them as honest 
traders ?" asked Sam in a whisper. 

" I think not," replied Slagg ; " if all 's true that 
one hears, there is not much honesty afloat in them 
seas. My advice is to stay where we are and see 
what turns up." 

" What think you, Eobin ? " 

Eobin was of opinion that they should trust the 
strangers and go forward. Stumps agreed with him, 
but Sam thought with Slagg. Their indecision, how- 
ever, was cut short by a most startling occurrence. 

While they were yet whispering together, the 
sound of voices was heard in the distance. Our 
castaways at once sank flatter into the grass, and 
became mute. 

M 



178 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 



In a few minutes the voices drew gradually 
nearer, until they were quite close to the alarmed 
watchers. Suddenly, from among the bushes on the 
other side of an open space just in front of them, 
there issued a band of men, walking in single file. 
Their appearance might have aroused grave anxiety 
in the most unsuspecting breast, for, besides pos- 
sessing faces in which the effects of dissipation and 
evil passions were plainly stamped, they were armed 
— as the saying is — to the teeth, with short swords, 
cavalry pistols, and carbines. They were dressed 
in varied Eastern costume, and appeared to be of 
Malay origin, though some bore closer resemblance 
to the Chinese. 

The man who marched in advance — evidently 
the leader of the band — was unusually tall and 
powerful, with a remarkably stern, but not alto- 
gether forbidding, countenance. 

" Pirates ! " whispered Slagg. 

" Looks like them, but may be smugglers," 
replied Sam in the same cautious tone. 

Even Eobin's unsuspecting and inexperienced 
nature would not permit him to believe that they 
were honest traders. Had any doubts on the sub- 
ject lingered in their minds, these would have 
been effectually cleared away by the scenes which 
immediately followed. 

While the pirates were still at some distance 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BQILER. 179 

from the shore, sudden shouts and yells came from 
the vessel, which had, up to that time, been lying 
so peacefully at anchor, and it was at once clear 
that a furious hand-to-hand fight was taking place 
upon her deck. 

" It must be the poor slaves who have risen," 
whispered Sam. 

The pirates had drawn their swords and pistols 
at the first sound of the fight, and rushed to the 
rescue. They well knew that, while they had been 
on shore, the unfortunate captives chained in the 
vessel's hold had succeeded in freeing themselves, 
and were endeavouring to overcome the few men 
left to guard them. 

Slaves captured at various times by the scoun- 
drels who infest those seas, are sometimes made to 
work at the oars — which are much used durins? 
calm weather — until they die, or become so worn 
out as to be useless, when they are mercilessly 
thrown overboard. That the slaves referred to on 
this occasion, animated probably by despair, had 
effected their release, and plucked up heart to 
assault the armed guard, was a matter of some 
surprise to the pirates : not so, however, to our ad- 
venturers, when they saw, foremost among the muti- 
neers, a man clad in the garb of a European sailor. 

" That 's the boy as has put 'em up to it," said 
Jim Slagg, in a suppressed but eager voice, 



180 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEll. 

" they 'd never liave had the pluck to do it of 
themselves." 

" We 'd better go an' help 'em," said Stumps, 
whose usually stupid face was lighted up with 
excitement. 

" Eight, lad " exclaimed Slagg, starting up ; but 
Sam laid his hand firmly on his arm. 

" Too late," he said ; " don't you see that the 
guard have prevailed. Besides, the pirate crew 
are in their boats — almost at the vessel. See, they 
swarm up the side." 

" Poor, poor sailor !" said Eobin Wright, in a 
voice of the deepest pity. 

" You may well say that ; no doubt he is killed 
by this time," said Slagg ; " but no — he is fightin' 
still !" 

This was indeed true. Some of the slaves, 
rendered desperate no doubt, were still maintaining 
a hopeless fight with handspikes and such arms as 
they had succeeded in wresting from the guard at the 
first onset, and the stalwart figure of the European 
sailor was seen swaying aloft a clubbed musket 
and felling a pirate at every blow. Animated by 
his example, the other slaves fought with resolute 
bravery, but when the rest of the pirate crew joined 
the guard and surrounded them, they were instantly 
overpowered. Then those who had not been 
already slain were led hastily to the side, a sword 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 181 

was drawn across their throats, or thrust through 
them, and the bodies were tossed into the sea. 
Among those led thus to the side was the brave 
sailor. , Ahhough his features could not be dis- 
tinguished at such a distance by those in ambush, 
it could be clearly seen that he came boldly forward, 
resolved, no doubt, to meet his fate like a man. 

"Oh, God, spare him !" burst in a voice of agony 
from Eobin, who sprang up as if with the intention 
of rushing to the rescue, regardless of consequences, 
but a second time Sam Shipton's restraining hand 
was ready. 

" What could we do, with the sea between us and 
the ship ? Even if we were on the deck could we 
four deliver him from a hundred ? " 

Eobin sank down again with a groan, but his 
fascinated eyes still gazed at the pirate vessel. To 
his great surprise, the sailor at that moment uttered 
a long and ringing cheer ! The act seemed to over- 
awe even the bloodstained pirates, for they hesitated 
an instant. Then one of them pointed his sword at 
the sailor's back, but at the same moment the leader 
of the band was seen to strike up the sword and 
give some hurried directions. A rope was in- 
stantly brought, with which the arms and legs 
of the seaman were secured, and he was carried 
below. 

" Our prayer has been answered !" exclaimed 



182 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



Eobin with renewed excitement; " they are going to 
spare him." 

Sam shook his head. "I fear not, Eobin; at 
least, if I may judge from what I have read of these 
villains, they have only spared him for a time for 
the purpose of torturing him." 

Eobin shuddered, "Well, I don't know," he 
said, " whatever they may do God lias answered our 
prayer, for they Mm spared him ; and if God could 
deliver him thus at the last moment, surely He can 
deliver him altogether. But was it not remarkable 
that he should give such a cheer when — as he must 
have thought — at the point of death, for it sounded 
more like a cheer of triumph than defiance ?" 

"It was strange indeed. The effect of strong 
excitement, I fancy." 

While they were conversing, the pirates were 
busily engaged in getting up the anchor and hoist- 
ing the sails of their craft. At the same time the 
long oars or sweeps were manned by such of the 
slaves as remained alive, and the vessel slowly glided 
out of the creek, and put to sea. Tortunately the 
fight had engrossed the attention of those on board 
so much that they had failed to observe the little 
raft, which, although partially concealed by bushes, 
might not otherwise have escaped detection. 

Our voyagers were still congratulating themselves 
on their good fortune in this respect, when the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



183 



pirate ship was observed to change her course, turn 
completely round and return towards the land ! 

"They've seen us!" ejaculated Eobin in con- 
sternation. 

" Our doom is fixed," said Sam in a tone of bitter 
despair, 

Slagg and his friend were so much overwhelmed 
that they could not speak. 

On came the vessel — under oars — straight for the 
creek where the raft lay. There could be no doubt 
now that they had been seen. 

While they gazed in blank dismay, utterly unable 
to decide on any course of action, an event occurred 
which totally altered the aspect of affairs. Suddenly, 
as if by magic, the pirate ship was converted into a 
great black-and-white cloud, from out of which there 
shot an indescribable mass of broken spars and 
wreckage which fell in all directions in a heavy 
shower into the sea. Two seconds later and there 
came a roar as if a crash of the loudest thunder had 
rent the sky. The powder-magazine had been fired, 
and the pirate ship had been blown literally to 
atoms ! 

When the last of the terrible shower had fallen, 
nothing whatever of the vessel was to be seen 
;save the floating morsels of the wreck. It was, 
we might say, a tremendous instance of almost 
vabsolute annihilation. 



184 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

Eecovering from the shock of horror and surprise, 
Sam Shipton ran swiftly down to the spot where 
the raft lay, followed by his companions. 

" There may be some left alive ! " he cried. 
" Quick— shove her off. Yonder 's a pole, Eobin, 
fetch it." 

Another minute and they were afloat. Pushing 
with the pole, sculling with the rude oar, and 
paddling with a plank torn off, they made for the 
scene of the explosion. 

" I see something moving," said Stumps, who, 
having no implement to work with, stood up in 
front and directed their course. 

Soon they were in the midst of the d^lris. It 
was an awful sight, for there, mingled with riven 
spars and planks and cabin furniture, and entangled 
in ravelled cordage, lay the torn lifeless remains of 
the pirates. Sharks were already swimming about 
in anticipation of a feast. 

" Did you not see symptoms of life somewhere ?" 
asked Sam, as he stood beside Stumps, and looked 
earnestly round. 

" Yes, I did, but I don't now — 0 yes ! there 
it is again. Give way, Slagg, give way. There ! " 

The raft was soon alongside of the moving ob- 
ject. It was the body of the gallant sailor who 
had fought so well that day. His limbs were still 
fast bound, excepting one arm, with which now and 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



185 



then lie struck out feebly, as if trying to swim. 
Lying on his back his mouth and nose were above 
water, 

" Gently, gently, boys," said Eobin, as they lifted 
the head out of the water and slowly drew the 
shoulders up ; " now, a good heave and — that 's it." 

The body slid heavily on the raft, and the motion 
seemed to rouse the seaman's spirit, for he uttered 
a faint cheer, while they knelt round him, and 
tried in various ways to restore him to conscious- 
ness. 

" Hurrah for old England ! " he cried presently, 
in an imbecile manner, making an abortive effort 
to lift his loose arm ; " never say die — s' long 's 
there 's — a shok in th' letter," 

" Well done, old saltwater ! " cried Slagg, unable 
to restrain a laugh ; "you '11 live to fight yet, or I 'ni 
mistaken." 

There was indeed some prospect that the poor 
fellow would recover, for, after a short time, he was 
able to gaze at his rescuers with an intensity of 
surprise that betokened the return not only of 
consciousness but of reason. 

"Well, well," he said, after gazing around for 
some time in silence as he lay with his head sup- 
ported on the sail, " I s'pose it 's all right, and 
I '11 wake up all square in the mornin', but it 's out 
o' sight the most comical dream I 've had since I 



186 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 

was a babby. I only hope it '11 take a pleasanter 
turn if it 's agoin' to continue." 

With this philosophical reflection the sailor shut 
his eyes, and disposed himself to sleep until ths 
period of real waking should arrive. 

Thinking this the best thing he could do in the 
circumstances, his rescuers turned to examine 
whether any of the others had survived the explo- 
sion, but, finding that all were dead or had sunk, 
they returned to the land. 

Here, after securing the raft, they made a sort of 
litter, with the sail spread on the oar and a plank, 
on which they carried the sailor to the sheltered 
spot whence they had witnessed the fight. As the 
poor man had by that time fallen into a genuine 
slumber — which appeared to be dreamless — he was 
left under the care of Stumps and Slagg, while Sam 
and Eobin went off to ascertain whether or not the 
island was inhabited. 

" We will go straight up to the highest point at 
once, so as to get a bird's-eye view of it," said 
Sam. "I can't help thinking that it must be in- 
habited, for these scoundrels would not care to land, 
I should fancy, unless there was some one to rob." 

" It may be so, Sam. But if they had come to 
rob, don't you think they would not have returned 
to their ship without captives or booty ?" 

"There is something in that, Robin. Come; 
we shall see." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



187 



CHAPTEE XVII. 

STRANGE DISCOVERIES ON PIRATE ISLAND. 

On reaching the first rising-ground that lay be- 
fore them, Eobin and his friend received a great 
disappointment, for, instead of a richly wooded 
country, which the coast scenery where they landed 
had led them to expect, they found an exceedingly 
barren region, as far, at least, as the next ridge in 
advance. 

" No use to go further," said Sam, despondingly ; 
" nothing but barren rocks and a few scrubby bushes 
here. Evidently there are no inhabitants, for it 
would be almost impossible to live on such a 
place." 

" But it may be better further inland," said Eobin. 
" I can't think that the pirates would come here for 
nothing. At all events let us go to the next ridge." 

Without replying, Sam followed Eobin, but the 
next ridge revealed nothing more hopeful. Indeed 
the prospect thence was, if possible, more depress- 
ing, for it was seen that the island was small, that 



188 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



its sides were so steep all round, as far as the eye 
could reach, that there was apparently no landing- 
place except at the spot where they had been 
driven on shore. The elevated interior seemed as 
barren as the circumference, and no neighbourincf 
island was to be seen in all the wide field of vision. 
The only living creatures visible were innumerable 
sea-birds which circled round the clifis, and whicli, 
on espying the intruders, came clamouring over- 
head, as if to order them angrily away. 

" Having come thus far we may as well go to the 
top and have a look all round," said Eobin, " and see 
— here is something like a track worn on the rock." 

Sam's drooping spirits revived at once. He ex- 
amined the track carefully and pronounced it a 
" human " track. " The sea-gulls could not make 
it, Eobin. Goats, sheep, and cows cannot live 
without grass, therefore it was not made by them. 
A track is not usually worn on hard rock by the 
passage of pirates only once or twice over them. 
There is mystery here, Eobin. Come, on !" 

It will be observed that Eobin's spirit was more 
hopeful than that of his friend, nevertheless Sam 
being physically more energetic, was, when not 
depressed, prone to take the lead. He walked 
smartly forward therefore, followed humbly by his 
friend, and they soon reached what proved to be the 
summit of the island. 



THE BATTERY AlTD THE BOILER. 189 

Here supreme astonisliment was the chief in- 
gredient in their feelings, for they stood on the edge 
of a slope, at the foot of which, as in a basin, lay 
what seemed to be a small cultivated garden in the 
midst of a miniature valley covered with trees and 
shrubs, through which a tiny rivulet ran. This 
verdant little gem was so hemmed in by hills 
that it could not be seen from the sea or any low 
part of the island. But what surprised the dis- 
coverers most was the sight of an old woman, bent 
nearly double, who was busily at work in the garden. 
ISTot far from her was an old man, who, from his 
motions while at work, appeared to be blind. Their 
costume being nondescript, besides ragged, did not 
betoken their nationality. 

Sam and Eobin glanced at each other in silence, 
then turned to have another gaze at the scene. 

"We've found," said Sam, slowly and impres- 
sively, " a robber's nest 1" 

" D' you think so, Sam ?" 

" Think so ! I 'm sure of it. Just think. There 
is nothing on such an island as this to attract any 
one at all — much less robbers or pirates — except 
the fact that it is unattractive, and, apparently, far 
removed from the haunts of honest men. Depend 
upon it, Eobin, that the pirates whom we saw have 
Inade this their head-quarters and place of deposit 
for their booty — their bank as it were, for it 's too 



190 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



small for their home ; besides, if it were such, we 
should see a colony of women and children. No — 
this is the great Pirate Bank of the Southern Seas, 
and yonder we behold the secretary and cashier !" 

" And what," said Eobin with a laugh, " if there 
should be a few clerks in the bank? We might 
perhaps find them troublesome fellows to deal with." 

"We might, Eobin. Would it not be wise to 
return and let Slagg and Stumps know what we 
have discovered, and take counsel together before 
we act." 

" Agreed," said Eobin. " Isn't it strange though," 
he added, as they turned to retrace their steps, 
" that there are no buildings of any kind — only a 
little garden," 

"It is somewhat puzzling, I confess, but we 
shall—" 

He stopped abruptly, and stood rooted to the 
ground, for there, on a rock in front of him, with 
her light, graceful figure, and flowing golden hair, 
pictured against the blue sky, stood a little girl, 
apparently about six or seven years of age — an 
angel as it seemed to the amazed youths ! 

She had caught sight of the strangers at the very 
moment they had observed her, and stood gazing at 
them with a half eager, half terrified look in her 
large lustrous eyes. 

With a sudden and irresistible impulse Eobin 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 191 

extended his arms towards her. She made a little 
run towards him, then stopped, and the look of 
fear again came over her beautiful face. Eobin was 
afraid to advance lest he should frighten her. So, 
with an earnest look and smile, he said, " Come here, 
little one," 

She answered the invitation by bounding towards 
our hero and clasping him round the neck, causing 
him to sit down rather abruptly on a rock which 
lay conveniently behind. 

"Oh! I'm so glad you've come at last!" said 
the child, in English so good that there could be no 
question as to her nationality. " I was quite sure 
mamma would send to fetch me away from this 
tiresome place, but you 've been so long of coming 
■ — so very mry long." 

The thought of this, and perhaps the joy of being 
sent for " at last, caused her to sob and bury her 
face in Eobin's sympathetic bosom. 

" Cheer up, little one, and don't cry," said Eobin, 
passing his hand over her sunny hair, " your Father, 
at all events, has sent for you, if not your mother." 

" I have no father," said the child, looking up 
quickly. 

"Yes you have, little one; God is your father." 
"Did He send you to fetch me?" she asked in 
surprise. 

" I have not the smallest doubt," answered Eobin, 



192 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" that He sent us to take care of yon, and take you 
to your mother if that be possible. But tell me, 
little one, what is your name ?" 
" Letta." 

" And your surname V ' 

" My what !" exclaimed Letta, opening her large 
eyes to their widest, causing both Sam and Eobin 
to laugh. 

" Your other name, dear," said Sam. 

" I have no other name. Mamma always called 
me Letta — nothing else." 

"And what was mamma's name ?" asked Eobin. 

" It was mamma, of course," replied Letta, with a 
look of wonder that so silly a question should be asked. 

Sam and Eobin exchanged looks, and the former 
shook his head. " You 11 not get much information 
out of her I fear. Ask her about the pirates," he 
whispered. 

" Letta," said Eobin, settling the child more com- 
fortably on his knee — an attention which she re- 
ceived with a sigh of deep contentment, — are the 
people here kind to you?" 

" Yes, very kind. Old Meerta is as kind to me 
almost as mamma used to be, but I don't love her 
so much — not nearly so much, — and blind Bungo is 
a dear old man." 

" That 's nice. And the others—are they kind to 

you?" 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 193 

" What others ? Oh, I suppose you mean the 
men who come and stay for a time, and then go 
off again. 0 no ! They are not kind. They 
are bad men — very naughty ; they often fight, and 
I think call each other bad names, but I don't 
understand their language very well. They never 
hurt me, but they are very rough, and I don't like 
them at all. They all went away this morning. 
I was so glad, for they won't be back again for a 
good long while, and Meerta and Bungo won't get 
any more hard knocks and whippings till they 
come back." 

" Ha ! they won't come back in a hurry — not 
these ones at least," said Sam in a voice that 
frightened Letta, inducing her to cling closer to 
Kobin. 

" Don't be afraid, little one," said the latter, he 's 
only angry with the bad men that went away this 
morning. Are there any of them still remaining 
here?" 

« What, in the caves ?" 

"Ay, in the caves — or anywhere ?" 

" No they 're all away. ISTobody left but me and 
Meerta and blind Bungo." 

" Is it a long time since you came here ?" 

" 0 yes, very mry long !" replied the child, 
with a sad weary look ; " so long that — that you 
can't think." 



194 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" Come, dear ; tell us all about it/' said Eobin in 
a coaxing tone, — " all about mamma and how you 
came here." 

" Very well," said Letta, quite pleased with the 
request. Clearing her little throat with the em- 
phasis of one who has a long story to tell, she began 
with the statement that " mamma was a darling." 

From this, as a starting-point, she gave an 
amazing and rambling account of the joys and toys 
of infancy, which period of life seemed to have been 
spent in a most beautiful garden full of delicious 
fruits and sunshine, where the presiding and ever 
present angel was mamma. Then she told of a 
dark night, and a sudden awaking in the midst of 
flames and smoke and piercing cries, when fierce men 
seized her and carried her away, put her into a ship, 
where she was dreadfully sick for a long long time, 
until they landed on a rocky island, and suddenly 
she found herself " there," —-pomtrng as she spoke to 
the little garden below them. While she was yet 
describing her feelings on arrival, a voice shouting 
Letta was heard, and she instantly struggled from 
Eobin's knee. 

" 0 let me go !" she cried. " It 's Meerta calling 
me, and I never let her call twice." 

" "Why ? Would she be angry ?" 

"ISTo, but she would be sorry. Do let me go !" 

"But won't' you let us go too ?" asked Sam. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



195 



" 0 yes, if you want to come. This is the 
road/' she added, as she took Eobin by the hand ; 
"and you must be very careful how you go, else 
you '11 fall and hurt yourselves." 

Great was the amazement, and not slight the 
alarm of Meerta, when she beheld her little 
charge thus piloting two strangers down the hill. 
She spoke hurriedly to her blind companion, and at 
first seemed disposed to hide herself, but the man 
evidently dissuaded her from such a course, and 
when Letta ran forward, seized her hard old hands 
and said that God had sent people to take her back 
to mamma, she dismissed her fears and took to 
laughing immoderately. 

It soon became evident to our adventurers that 
the woman was in her dotage, while the old man 
was so frail that only a few of the sands of life 
remained to ran. They both understood a little 
English, but spoke in such a remarkably broken 
manner, that there was little prospect of much 
additional information being obtained from them. 

" You hungry — hungry ?" asked the old woman, 
with a sudden gleam of hospitality. " Com — com — 
me gif you for heat." 

She took Ecbin by the hand and led him towards 
a cavern, the mouth of which had not been visible 
higher up the mountain. Sam followed, led by Letta. 

The interior of the cavern was lofty and the 



196 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



floor level. Besides this, it was simiptnously 
furnished in a fashion singularly out of keeping 
with the spot and its surroundings. Pictures hung 
on the walls, Persian rugs lay on the floors. Otto- 
mans, covered with silk and velvet, were strewn 
about here and there, among easy-chairs of various 
kinds, some formed of wickerwork — in the fantastic 
shapes peculiar to the East — others of wood and 
cane, having the ungainly and unreasonable shapes 
esteemed by Western taste. Silver lamps and drink- 
ing-cups and plates of the finest porcelain were 
also scattered about, for there was no order in the 
cavern, either as to its arrangement or the character 
of its decoration. In the centre stood several large 
tables of polished wood, on which were the remains 
of what must have been a substantial feast — the 
dishes being as varied as the furniture — from the 
rice and egg messes of Eastern origin, to the pre- 
served sardines of the West. 

Ha ! ha ! " laughed the weird old creature who 
ushered the astonished youths into this strange 
banqueting hall, "the rubberts — rubbers — you 
calls dem ?" 

" Eobbers, she means ; that 's the naughty men," 
explained Letta, who seemed to enjoy the old 
woman's blunders in the English tongue. 

" Yis, dats so — roberts an' pyrits — ha ! ha ! 
dems feed here dis mornin'. You feed dis after- 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 197 

noons. Me keeps house for dem. Dey tinks me 
alone wid Bungo an' Letta, ho ! ho ! but me 's got 
cumpiny dis day. Sit down an' grub wat yous can. 
Doo you good. Doo Letta and Bungo good. Doos 
all good. Fire away ! Ha ! ha — a ! Keep you's 
nose out o' dat pie, Bungo, you brute. Yous git 
sik eff you heat more." 

Eegardless of this admonition, the poor old man 
broke off a huge mass of pie-crust, which he- began 
to mouth with his toothless gums, a quiet smile 
indicating at once his indiff'erence to Meerta and 
consequences, while he mumbled something about 
its not being every day he got so good a chance. 

'•Das true," remarked the old woman, with 
another hilarious laugh. " Dey go hoff' awful quick 
dis day." 

While Sam and Eobin sat down to enjoy a good 
dinner, or rather breakfast^ of which they stood 
much in need, Letta explained^ in a disjointed 
rambling fashion, that after a feed of this kind the 
naughty men usually had a fight, after which they 
took a long sleep, and then had the dishes cleaned 
up and the silver things locked away before taking 
their departure from the cave for " a long, long 
time," by which, no doubt, she indicated the period 
spent on a pilfering expedition. But on this par- 
ticular occasion, she added, while the naughty men 
were seated at the feast, one of their number from 



198 THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEE. 

their ship came hastily in and said something, she 
could not tell what, which caused them at once to 
leap up and rush out of the cave, and they had not 
come back since. 

"And they're not likely to come back, little 
one," said Eobin through a mouthful of rice. 

" Ha ! ha — a ! " laughed Sam through a mouthful 
of pie-crust. 

" Ho ! ho !" cried the old woman, with a look of 
surprise, " yous bery brav boy, I dessay, but if dem 
roberts doos kum back, you soon laugh on wrong side 
ob de mout', for dey screw yous limbses off, an' ho ! 
skrunch yous teeth hout, an' roast you 'live, so yous 
better heat w'at yous can an' go hof — fast as you 
couldn't." 

" I say, Eobin," said Sam, unable to restrain a 
smile at the expression of Letta's face, as she 
listened to this catalogue of horrors, " that speech 
might have taken away our appetites did we not 
know that the ' roberts ' are all dead," 

"Dead !" exclaimed the old woman with a start 
and a gleam of serious intelligence, such as had not 
before appeared on her wrinkled visage ; " are de 
roberts all dead ?" 

" All," replied Sam, who thereupon gave the old 
pair a full account of what had been witnessed on 
the shore. 

Strange to say, the old man and woman were 



I 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 199 

much depressed by the news, although, from what 
they afterwards related, they had been very cruelly 
treated by the pirates, by whom they had been 
enslaved for many years. N"ay, old Meerta even 
dropped a tear or two quietly to their memory, for, 
as she remarked, by way of explanation or excuse, 
" dey wasn't all so bad as each oder." 

However, she soon recovered her composure, and 
while Sam Shipton returned to the shore to fetch 
their comrades to the cave, she told Eobin, among 
other things, that the pirates had brought Letta to 
the island two years before, along with a large 
quantity of booty, but that she did not know where 
she came from, or to whom she belonged. 

Sam Shipton resolved to give his comrades the 
full benefit of the surprise in store, therefore, on 
returning to them, he merely said that he had left 
Kobin in a rather curious place in the interior, 
where they had discovered both food and drink in 
abundance, and that he had come to conduct them 
to it. 

By that time the seaman whom they had rescued 
had recovered considerably, and was able to walk 
with assistance, though still rather confused in his 
mind and disposed to be silent. At first he ex- 
pressed a desire to be left to sleep where he was, but 
on being told that the place they were going to was 
not far off, and that he would be able to rest longer 



200 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



and much more comfortably there than where he 
was, he braced himself up and accompanied them, 
leaning on Sam and Jim Slagg as he staggered along. 

Need it be said that both Slagg and Stumps 
shouted with surprise when they came suddenly in 
sight of the garden; that they lost the power of 
utterance on beholding Eobin holding familiar con- 
verse with an old hag, a blind man, and a small 
angel ; and that they all but fell down on entering 
the pirate's cave ? 

'No, it need not be said ; let us pass, therefore, to 
the next scene in this amazing drama. 

Of course Eobin had prepared the inhabitants of 
the garden for the arrival of his friends. He had 
also learned that the pirates, in the hurry of depar- 
ture, had not only left everything lying about, but 
had left the key of their treasure-cave in the lock. 
Old Meerta offered to show him the contents, but 
Eobin determined to await the arrival of his friends 
before examining the place. 

When Slagg and Stumps had breakfasted, and the 
sailor had been laid on a comfortable couch, where 
he immediately fell fast asleep, Eobin pulled the 
key of the treasure-cave out of his pocket and asked 
his comrades to follow him. Wondering at the 
request, they did so. 

The cave referred to lay at the inner extremity 
of the banqueting cavern, and was guarded by a 



I 




THE riJ?ATKS' CAVE.- rage 201. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 201 

massive door of wood. Opening this, Eobin allowed 
the old woman to enter first and lead the way. 
She did so with one of her wild " ho ! he's ! " being 
obviously much excited at the opportunity of show- 
ing to the visitors the contents of a cavern which 
she had never before been permitted to enter save 
in the company of the pirates. Entering the small 
doorway, through which only a subdued light pene- 
trated, she went to a ledge or natural shelf of rock 
and took down a silver lamp of beautiful work- 
manship, which had probably belonged to a church 
or temple. Lighting it, she ushered them through 
a natural archway into an inner cavern, round the 
walls of which were heaped in piles merchandise 
and wealth of all kinds in great profusion and 
variety. There were bales of broadcloth and other 
fabrics from the looms of Tuscany; tweeds from 
the factories of Scotland ; silks, satins, and velvets 
in great rolls, mingled with lace, linen, and more 
delicate fabrics. Close beside these piles, but not 
mixed with them, were boxes of cutlery and other 
hardware, and, further on, chests of drawers con- 
taining spices from the East, chests of tea and coffee, 
barrels of sugar, and groceries of all kinds. 

These things were not thrown together in con- 
fusion, but arranged in systematic order, as if 
under the management of an expert store-keeper, 
and a desk with business-books on it seemed to 



202 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



indicate that a careful record was kept of the 
whole. 

Among the miscellaneous merchandise stood 
several large and massive chests of ancient material 
and antique form. Taking a bunch of small keys 
from a nail on the wall, the old woman proceeded 
to open these and exhibit their contents with much 
of the interest and simple delight exhibited by a 
child in displaying her treasures to new companions. 

Handing the silver lamp to Eobin, who with his 
comrades looked on in silent surprise, she opened 
the first chest. It was loaded to the lid with 
jewellery of all kinds, which sparkled in the light 
with dazzling brilliancy, for even to the inexperi- 
enced eyes of the observers, many of the gems were 
obviously of the finest quality, and almost priceless 
in value. There was no order in the arrangement 
of these — bracelets, ear-rings, watches, etc., of Euro- 
pean manufacture lying side by side with the costly 
golden wreaths and tiaras of India, and the more 
massive and gorgeous brooches, nose-rings, neck- 
rings, and anklets peculiar to semi-barbaric lands. 

The next chest was filled with gold, silver, and 
bronze drinking-cups and goblets, lamps, vases, and 
urns, that had been gathered from the ships of 
many countries. Then there were chests which 
contained little barrels full of gold and silver coin 
of every realm, from the huge golden doubloon of 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



203 



Spain to the little silver groschen of Germany. 
Besides all this varied wealth, there were piles of 
.arms of all nations — richly chased scimitars of 
Eastern manufacture, the clumsy cutlasses of Eng- 
land, long silver-handled pistols of Oriental form, 
bluft' little " bull-dog " revolvers, cavalry sabres, 
breech-loading rifles, ilint-lock muskets, shields, 
spears, bows and arrows — in short, a miscellaneous 
armoury much too extensive to be described. 

It was interesting to observe the monkey-like 
countenance of old Meerta as she watched the effect 
produced on her visitors, her little black eyes 
sparkling in the lamplight more brightly than the 
finest gems there ; and not less interesting was it to 
note the half-amused, more than half-amazed, and 
partially imbecile gaze of the still silent visitors. 
Little Letta enjoyed their looks quite as much as 
Meerta. 

"Haven't we got lots of pretty things here?" 
she said, looking up into Eobin's face. 

"Yes, little one, — wonderful !'' 

Eobin revived sufficiently to make this reply and 
to glance at Sam, Slagg, and Stumps, who returned 
the glance. Then he relapsed. 

Snatching the lamp from his hand, old Meerta 
now led the party to a remote corner of the cave, 
where a number of large casks were ranged at one 
end, and covered with a sheet of leather. 



204 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



"Ha! ha!" laughed their wild guide, in a sort 
of screech, " here be de grandest jools, de finest 
dimunds of all, what buys all de rest I" 

She lifted a corner of the skin, removed the loose 
head of a cask, and holding the lamp close over the 
opening, bade them look in. They did so, and the 
effect was powerful as well as instantaneous, for 
there, only a few inches below the flaring light, lay 
an open barrel of gunpowder ! 

The senses of Sam Shipton returned like a flash 
of lightning — interest, surprise, admiration vanished 
like smoke, as he uttered a shout, and, with one hand 
seizing the wrist of the withered arm that held the 
lamp, with the other he hastily drew the leathern 
cover over the exposed powder and held it down. 

" You old curmudgeon ! " he cried ; " here, Eobin, 
take the lamp from her, and away with it into the 
outer cave." 

Our hero promptly obeyed, while the other two, 
under an instinct of self-preservation, had already 
fled in the same direction, followed by a shrill and 
half-fiendish laugh from the old woman. 

" Well, I never had such a narrow escape," said 
Sam, as he issued from the cave, still holding Meerta 
firmly, though not roughly, by the wrist. 

" Why, there 's enough powder there, I do believe," 
said Jim Slagg, "to split the whole island in 
two." 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 205 

" There, it 's all safe now," said Sam, as he locked 
the heavy door and thrust the key in his pocket ; 
" and I will take care of your treasures for you in 
future, old lady." 

" Wass you frighted ? " asked the old woman w^ith 
a low laugh, in which even Letta joined. 

" Frighted, you reckless old thing," replied Sam, 
seizing a tankard of water and draining it, " of 
course I was ; if a spark had gone down into that 
cask, you would have been considerably frighted 
too." 

I 'm not so sure of that," said Stumps ; " she 
wouldn't have had time to get a fright." 

"0 no ! " said Meerta ; " I 's niver frighted. 
Many time me stan' by dat keg, t'inkin', t'inkin', 
t'inkin' if me stuff de light in it, and blow de pyrits 
vid all dere tings to 'warsl smash ; but no — me 
tinks dat some of dem wasn't all so bad as each 
oder." 

This thought seemed to have the effect of quieting 
the roused spirit of the poor old woman, for there- 
after a softened expression overspread her wrinkled 
face as she went silently about clearing away the 
debris of the recent feast 



206 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEK. 



CHAPTEE . XVIII. 

THE pirate's mLA.iSD—conti7iued. 

Next morning Sam Shipton awoke from a sound 
and dreamless slumber. Eaising himself on the 
soft ottoman, or Eastern couch, on which he had 
spent the night, he looked round in a state of 
sleepy wonder, unable at first to remember where 
he was. Gradually he recalled the circumstances 
and events of the preceding day. * 

The forms of his companions lay on couches 
similar to his own in attitudes of repose, and the 
seaman still slept profoundly in the position in 
w^hich he had been laid down when brought in. 

Through the mouth of the cavern Sa.m coald see 
the little garden, glowing like an emerald in the 
beams of the rising sun, and amongst the bushes 
he observed the old couple stooping quietly over 
their labour of gathering weeds. The warm air, the 
bright sunshine, and the soft cries of distant sea- 
birds, induced Sam to slip into such of his garments 
as he had put off, and go out quietly without rousing 
his companions. 



I 

4 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 207 

In a few minutes he stood on the summit of 
the islet and saw the wide ocean surrounding him, 
like a vast sparkling plain, its myriad wavelets 
reflecting now the dazzling sun, now the azure 
vault, the commingling yellow and blue of which 
resulted in a lovely transparent green, save where 
a few puffs of wind swept over the great expanse 
and streaked it with lines of darkest blue. 

" Truly," murmured Sam, as he gazed in admira- 
tion at the glorious expanse of sea and sky, Eobin 
is right when he says that we are not half suffi- 
ciently impressed with the goodness of the Almighty 
in placing us in the midst of such a splendid world, 
with capacity to appreciate and enjoy it to the full. 
I begin to fear that I am a more ungrateful fellow 
than I Ve been used to think." 

For some time he continued to gaze in silence as 
if that thought were working. 

From his elevated position he could now see that 
the islet was not quite so barren as at first he had 
been led to suppose. Several little valleys and cup- 
like hollows lay nestling among the otherwise barren 
hills, like lovely gems in a rough setting. Those, 
he now perceived, must have been invisible from 
the sea, and the rugged almost perpendicular cliffs 
in their neighbourhood had apparently prevented 
men from landing and discovering their existence. 
One of the valleys, in particular, was not only larger 



208 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



than the others, but exceptionally rich in vegetation, 
besides having a miniature lake, like a diamond, in 
its bosom. 

Descending the hill and returning to the cave, 
Sam found his comrades still asleep. Letta was 
assisting old Meerta in the preparation of a sub- 
stantial breakfast that would not have done discredit 
to a first-class hotel. 

"Oh, I'm so glad you've come!" said Letta, 
running up to him and giving him both hands to 
shake, and a readv little mouth to kiss, "for I 
didn't like to awaken your friends, and the sailor 
one looks so still that I fear he may be dying. I 
saw one of the naughty men die here, and he looked 
just like that," 

Somewhat alarmed by this, Sam went at once to 
the sailor and looked earnestly at him. 

" No fear, Letta," he said, " the poor fellow is not 
dying ; he is only in a very profound sleep, having 
been much exhausted and nearly killed yesterday. 
Hallo, Kobin ! awake at last ?" 

Eobin, who had been roused by the voices, rubbed 
his eyes, yawned vociferously, and looked vacantly 
round. 

" Well, now, that 's most extraordinary ; it isn't a 
dream after all !" 

" It 's an uncommon pleasant dream, if it is one," 
remarked Jim Slagg, with a grave stare at Eobin, 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEE. 209 

as he sat up on his couch. " I never in all my 
bom days dreamt such a sweet smell of coffee and 
fried sausages. Why, the old 'ooman's a-bringin' 
of 'em in, I do declare. Pinch me, Stumps, to see if 
I 'm awake ! " 

As Stumps was still asleep, Slagg himself resorted 
to the method referred to, and roused his comrade. 
In a few minutes they were all seated at breakfast 
with the exception of the sailor, whom it was 
thought best to leave to his repose until nature 
should whisper in his ear. 

" Well now," said Slagg, pausing to rest for a few 
seconds, " if we had a submarine cable 'tween this 
and England, and we was to give 'em an account 
of all we 've seen an' bin doin', they 'd never believe 
it." 

" Cer'nly not. They 'd say it wos all a passel o' 
lies," remarked Stumps ; " but I say, Mr. Sam — " 

"Come now, Stumps, don't 'Mister' me any 
more." 

"Well, I won't do it any more, though 'tain't 
easy to change one's 'abits. But how is it, sir, that 
that there electricity works ? That 's what I 
wants to know. Does the words run along the 
cable, — or 'ow ?" 

" Of course they do, Stumpy," interrupted Slagg, 
" they run along the cable like a lot o' little tight- 
rope dancers, an' when they come to the end o 't 

0 



210 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



they jumps off an' ranges 'temselves in a row. 
Sometimes, in coorse, they spells wrong, like bad 
schoolboys, and then they've to be walloped an' 
set right." 

" Hold your noise, Slagg, an' let your betters 
speak," returned Stumps. 

" Well, if they don't exactly do that,** said Sam 
Shipton, " there are people who think they can do 
things even more difficult. I remember once, when 
I was clerk at a country railroad station and had 
to work the telegraph, an old woman came into the 
ticket office in a state of wild despair. She was 
about the size and shape of Meerta there, but with 
about an inch and a half more nose, and two or 
three ounces less brain. 

" 'What 's wrong, madam ? ' I asked, feeling quite 
sorry for the poor old thing. 

" ' Oh ! sir,' said she, clasping her hands, * I 've 
bin an' left my passel, — a brown paper one it was, 
— on the seat at the last station, an' there was a 
babby's muffler in it — the sweetest thing as ever 
was — an' f-fi' pun t-ten, on'y one sh-shillin' was 
b-bad — boo-hoo ! ' 

" She broke down entirely at this point, so, said I, 
' Madam, make your mind quite easy, sit down, and 
I 'U telegraph at once ; ' so I telegraphed, and got 
a reply back immediately that the parcel had been 
found all right, and would be sent on as soon as 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 211 

possible. I told this to the old lady, who seemed 
quite pleased, and went on to the platform to wait. 

" I was pretty busy for the next quarter of an 
hour, for it was market day at the next town, but 
I noticed through the window that the old lady 
was standing on the platform, gazing steadily up 
at the sky. 

" ' Broxley — third class,' said a big farmer at that 
moment, with a head like one of his own turnips. 

" I gave him his ticket, and for five minutes ♦ 
more I was kept pretty busy, when up came the 
train ; in got the struggling crowd ; whew ! went 
the whistle, and away went the whole affair, leaving 
no one on the platform but the porter, and the old 
woman still staring up at the sky. 

" ' What 's the matter, madam ? ' I asked. 

" ' Matter ! ' she exclaimed, ' a pretty telegraph 
yours is to be sure ! wuss than the old carrier by a 
long way. Here 'ave I bin standin' for full 'alf-an- 
hour with my neck nigh broke, and there 's no sign 
of it yet.' 

" ' IN"o sign of what, madam ?' 

" ' Of my brown paper passel, to be sure. Didn't 
you tell me, young man, that they said they 'd send 
it by telegraph as soon as possible ? ' 

" ' N"o, madam,' I replied, ' I told you they had 
telegraphed to say they would send it on as soon 
as possible — meaning, of course, by rail, for we have 



212 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

not yet discovered the metliod of sending parcels 
by telegraph — though, no doubt, we shall in course 
of time. If you 11 give me your address I '11 send 
the parcel to you.' 

' Thank you, young man. Do/ she said, giving 
me an old envelope with her name on it. ' Be sure 
you do. I don't mind the money much, but I 
couldn't a-bear to lose that muffler. It was such 
a sweet thing, turned up with yaller, and a present 
too, which it isn't many of 'em comes my way.' 

" So you seO; Stumps, some people have queer 
notions about the powers of the telegraph." 

" But did the old lady get the parcel all right ? " 
asked Stumps, who was a sympathetic soul. 

" Of course she did, and came over to the station 
next day to thank me, and offer me the bad shilling 
by way of reward. Of course I declined it with 
many expressions of gratitude." 

While they were thus a,dding intellectual sauce 
to the material feast of breakfast, the rescued sailor 
awoke from his prolonged sleep, and stretched 
himself. 

He was a huge, thick-set man, with a benign 
expression of countenance, but that phase of his 
character was somewhat concealed at the time by 
two black eyes, a swollen nose, a cut lip, and a torn 
cheek. Poor fellow, he had suffered severely at 
the hands of the pirates, and suddenly checked the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



213 



stretch in which he was indulging with a sharp 
groan, or growl, as he sat up and pressed his hand 
to his side. 

"Why, what's the matter with me, an' where 
am I ? " he exclaimed, gazing round the cave, while 
a look of wonder gradually displaced the expression 
of pain, 

" You 're all right — rescued from the pirates at 
all events," answered Sam Shipton, rising from table 
and sitting down beside the seaman's couch. 

"Thank God for that!" said the man earnestly, 
though with a troubled look ; but how did I escape 
— where are the rascals ? — what — " 

'•There, now, don't excite yourself, my man; 
you 're not quite yourself in body. Come, let me 
feel your pulse. Ah, slightly feverish — no wonder 
I '11 tell you all about it soon, but at present you 
must be content merely to know that you are safe 
in the hands of friends, that you are in the pirates' 
cave, and that the pirates and their vessel are now 
at the bottom of the sea." 

" That 's hardly c'rect, Mr. Shipton," murmured 
Slagg; "I would have said they was blow'd to 
hatoms." 

The seaman turned and looked at the speaker 
with what would have been a twinkle if his swelled 
visage would have permitted, but the effort pro- 
duced another spasm of pain. 



214 THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEE. 

" I must examine yon, friend," said Sam ; " jou 
have been severely handled. Help me to strip him, 
Eobin." 

The poor man at once submitted. 

"You're a doctor, sir, I suppose?" he asked. 

" Fo," said Sam, " only an amateur ; nevertheless 
I know what I'm about. You see, I think that 
every man in the world, whatever his station or 
profession, should be at least slightly acquainted 
with every subject under the sun in connection 
with which he may be called on to act. In other 
words, he should know at least a little about 
surgery, and physic, and law^ and carpentering, 
blacksmithing, building, cooking, riding, swimming, 
and — hallo ! why, two of your ribs are broken, my 
man ! " 

" Sorry to hear it, sir, but not surprised, for I 
feels as if two or three o' my spines was broken 
also, and five or six o' my lungs bu'sted. You won't 
be able to mend 'em, I fear." 

" Oh, yes, I shall," said Sam cheerily. 
Ah ! that 's well. I 'd thowt that p'r'aps you 
wouldn't have the tools 'andy in these parts for 
splicin' of em." 

"Fortunately no tools are required," returned 
Sam. " I '11 soon put you right, but you '11 have to 
lie still for some time. Here, Kobin, go into the 
store- cave and fetch me a few yards of that white 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



215 



cotton, you remember, near the door. And, I say, 
mind you keep well clear of the powder." 

When the cotton was brought, Sam tore it up 
into long strips, which he wound somewhat tightly 
round the sailor's huge chest. 

"You see," he observed, as he applied the 
bandages, "broken ribs are not necessarily displaced, 
but the action of breathing separates the ends of 
them continually, so that they can't get a chance 
of re-uniting. All we have to do, therefore, is to 
prevent your taking a full breath, and this is 
accomplished by tying you up tight — so. 'Now, 
you can't breathe fully even if you would, and I 'd 
recommend you not to try. By the way — what 's 
your name ? " 

" Johnson, sir, — John Johnson." 

" Well, Johnson, I '11 give you something to eat 
and drink now, after which you '11 have another 
sleep. To-morrow we '11 have a chat on things in 
general." 

" I say," asked Eobin that night, as he and Sam 
stood star-gazing together beside a small fire which 
had been kindled outside the cavern-mouth for 
cooking purposes, " is it true that you have studied 
all the subjects you mentioned to Johnson this 
morning ? " 

" Quite true. I have not indeed studied them 
long or profoundly, but I have acquired sufficient 



216 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



knowledge of each to enable me to take intelligent 
action, as I did this morning, instead of standing 
helplessly by, or, what might be worse, making a 
blind attempt to do something on the chance that 
it might be the right thing, as once happened to 
myself when a bungling ignoramus gave me a glass 
of brandy to cure what he called muUigrumps, but 
what in truth turned out to be inflammation." 

" But what think you of the saying that ' a little 
knowledge is a dangerous thing,' Sam." j 

" I think that, like most of the world's maximsj 
it is only partially, or relatively, true. If Little, 
Knowledge claims the position and attempts to act 
the part of Great Knowledge, it becomes dangerous 
indeed ; but if Little Knowledge walks modestly, 
and only takes action when none but Ignorance 
stands by, it is, in my opinion, neither dangerous 
nor liable to be destructive." 

While they were speaking, little Letta came out 
of the cavern and ran towards them. 

" It is like a dream of the Arabian Nights to 
meet such a little angel here," murmured Eobin ; 
" what a dreadful blow the loss of her must have 
been to her poor mother ! " 

" 0 ! come to Johnson, please," she said, taking 
Sam by the hand with a very trustful look and 
manner. 

" Why; he 's not worse, is he ?" 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 217 



"0 no ! he has just awakened, and says he is 
very much better, and so peckish. What does he 
mean by that ? " 

" Peckish, my dear, is hungry," explained Eobin, 
as they went into the cave together. 

They found that Johnson was not only peckish 
but curious, and thirsting for information as well as 
meat and drink. As his pulse was pronounced by 
Dr. Shipton to be all right, he was gratified with a 
hearty supper, a long pull at the tankard of sparkling 
water, and a good deal of information and small- 
talk about the pirates, the wreck of the Triton, and 
the science of electricity. 

" But you have not told us yet," said Sam, " how 
it was that you came to fall into the hands of the 
pirates." 

" I can soon tell 'ee that," said the seaman, turn- 
ing slowly on his couch. , 

" Lie still, now, you must not move," said Sam, 
remonstratively. 

" But that not movin', doctor, is wuss than down- 
right pain, by a long way. Hows'ever, I s'pose I 
must obey orders — anyhow you've got the whip 
hand o' me just now. Well, as I was sayin', the 
yarn ain't a long un. I sailed from the port o' 
Lun'on in a tea-clipper, of which I was the cook ; 
got out to Hong-Kong all right, shipped a cargo, 
and off again for old England. We hadn't got far 



218 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



when a most horrible gale blew us far out of our 
course. When it fell calm, soon arter, we was 
boarded by a pirate. Our captain fought like a 
hero, but it warn't of no use. They was too many 
for us ; most of my shipmates was killed, and I was 
knocked fiat on the deck from behind with a hand- 
spike. On recoverin', I found myself in the ship's 
hold, bound hand and futt, among a lot of unfor- 
tunits like myself, most of 'em bein' Chinese and 
Malays. The reptiles untied my hands and set 
me to an oar. They thrashed us all unmercifully 
to make us work hard, and killed the weak ones 
to be rid of 'em. At last we came to an anchor, 
as I knew by the rattlin' o' the cables, though, 
bein' below, I couldn't see where we was. Then 
I heard the boats got out, an' all the crew went 
ashore, as I guessed, except the guard left to watch 
us. 

" That night I dreamed a deal about bein' free, 
an' about former voyages — specially one when I 
was wrecked in the Atlantic, an' our good ship, the 
Seahorse, went down in lat. — " 

" The Seahorse ! " echoed Eobin, with an earnest 
look at the sailor ; " was she an emigrant ship ?" 

" Ay, that 's just what she was." 

"Was she lost in the year 1850 ?" continued 
Eobin, with increasing excitement. 

" Jus' so, my lad." 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



219 



" And you were cook ?" 

" You 've hit the nail fair on the head/' replied the 
sailor, with a look of surprise. 

"Well, now, that is most remarkable," saidEobin, 
" for I was born on board of that very ship." 

" You don't mean it," said Johnson, looking eagerly 
at our hero. " Was you really the babby as was born 
to that poor miserable sea-sick gentleman, Mr. 
Wright — you '11 excuse my sayin' so — in the middle 
of a thunder-clap an' a flash o' lightniu' as would 
have split our main-mast an' sent us to the bottom, 
along wi' the ship, if it hadn't bin for the noo 
lightnin' conductor that Mr. Harris, the inventor, 
indooced our skipper to put up !" 

"Yes, I am that very baby," said Eobin, "and 
although, of course, I remember nothing about the 
thunder and lightning, or anything else, my father 
and mother have often told me all about it, and the 
wonderful deliverance which God mercifully sent 
when all hope had been given up. And many a 
time did they speak of you, Johnson, as a right good 
fellow and a splendid cook." 

"Much obleedged to 'em," said Johnson, "an' are 
they both alive ?" 

"They were both alive and well when I left 
England." 

" Come now, this is pleasant, to meet an old ship- 
mate in such pecooliar circumstances," said the 



220 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



sailor, extending his hand, which Eobin shook 
warmly ; " quite as good as a play, ain't it ?" 

" Ay," observed Jim Slagg, who with the others 
had witnessed this meeting with deep interest, " an' 
the babby has kep' the lighten' goin ever since, 
though he 's dropped the thunder, for he 's an 
electrician no less — a manufacturer of lightnin' an' 
a director of it too." 

The sailor was a good deal puzzled by this remark, 
but when its purport was explained to him, he gave 
vent to a vigorous chuckle, notwithstanding Sam's 
stern order to " lie still." 

" Didn't I say so V he exclaimed. " Didn't I say 
distinctly, that night, to the stooard — Thomson was 
his name — * Stooard,' said I, ' that there babby what 
has just bin born will make his mark some'ow an' 
somew'eres.'" 

" Well, but I have not made my mark yet," said 
Eobin, laughing, " so you 're not a true prophet, at 
least time has not yet proved your title." 

"Not yet proved it!" cried Johnson with vehe- 
mence, " why, how much proof do you want ? Here 
you are, not much more than a babby yet — any'ow 
hardly a man — and, besides havin' bin born in 
thunder, lightnin', wind, an' rain, you've laid the 
Atlantic Gable, you 've took up lightnin' as a pro- 
fession — or a plaything, — you 've helped to save the 
life of John Johnson, an' you've got comfortably 



THE BATTEflY AND THE BOILER. 221 

located in a pirate's island ! If you on'y go on as 
you Ve begun, you '11 make your mark so deep that 
it'll never be rubbed out to the end of time. A 
prophet, indeed ! Why, I 'm shuperior to Mahomet, 
an' beat ISFebuchadnezzar all to sticks." 

" But you haven't finished your story, Johnson," 
said Jim Slagg. 

"That's true — where was I? Ah, dreamin' in 
the hold of the pirate ship. Well, I woke up with 
a start all of a suddent, bent on doin' suthin', I 
scarce knew what, but I wriggled away at the rope 
that bound me till I got my hands free ; then I 
freed my legs ; then I loosed som.e o' the boldest 
fellows among the slaves, and got handspikes and 
bits o' wood to arm 'em with. They was clever 
enough to understand signs, an' I couldn't speak to 
'em, not knowin' their lingo, but I signed to 'em to 
keep quiet as mice. Then I crep' to the powder 
magazine, which the reckless reptiles fastened very 
carelessly, and got a bit paper and made n slow 
match by rubbin' some wet powder on it, and laid it 
all handy, for I was determined to escape and put an 
end to their doin's all at once. My plan was to 
attack and overpower the guard, free and arm all 
the slaves, blow up the ship, escape on shore, an' 
have a pitched battle with the pirate crew. Un- 
fortunately there was a white-livered traitor among 
us — a sort o' half-an'-half slave — very likely he was 



222 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

a spy. Anyhow, when he saw what I was about, 
he slipped over the side and swam quietly ashore. 
Why he didn't alarm the guards I don't know — 
p'r'aps he thought we might be too many for 'em, and 
that if we conquered he stood but a small chance. 
Anyhow he escaped the sharks, and warned the 
crew in good time, for we was in the very middle 
of the scrimmage when they suddintly turned up, 
as you saw, an' got the better of us. Hows'ever I 
managed to bolt below and fire the slow match, 
before they saw what I was after. Then I turned 
and fought my way on deck again, so that they 
didn't find out. And when they was about to 
throw me overboard, the thought of the surprise in 
store for 'em indooced me to give vent to a hearty 
cheer. It warn't a right state o' mind, I confess, 
and I was properly punished, for, instead o' killin' 
me off quick an' comfortable, they tied me hand and 
futt, took me below, an' laid me not two yards from 
the slowly burnin' match. I felt raither unhappy, I 
assure you ; an' the reptiles never noticed the match 
because o' the smoke o' the scrimmage. I do believe 
it was being so near it as saved me, for when the crash 
came, I was lifted bodily wi' the planks on which I 
lay, and, comin' down from the sky, as it appeared 
to me, I went clean into the sea without damage, 
except the breakin' o' one o' the ropes, which, for- 
tunately, set my right arm free." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



223 



" Come now, Johnson, you must go to sleep after 
that," said Sam. "You're exciting yourself too 
mucli ; remember that I am your doctor, and 
obedience is the first law of nature — when one is 
out of health." 

" Very good, sir," returned the seaman ; " but be- 
fore I turn over Mr. Wright must read me a few 
verses out o' that bible his mother gave him." 

" Why, how do you know that my mother gave 
me a bible ?" asked Eobin in great surprise. 

" Didn't I know your mother ?" replied the sailor 
with a flush of enthusiasm ; " an' don't I know that 
she would sooner have let you go to sea without 
her blessing than without the Word of God ? She 
was the first human bein' as ever spoke to me about 
my miserable soul, and the love of God in sendin' 
His Son to save it. Many a one has asked me 
about my health, and warned me to fly from drink, 
and offered to help me on in life, but she was the 
first that ever asked after my soul, or tried to im- 
press on me that Eternity and its afi'airs were of 
more importance than Time. I didn't say much at 
the time, but the seed that your mother planted 
nigh twenty years ago has bin watered, thank God, 
an' kep' alive ever since." 

There was a tone of seriousness and gratitude in 
this off-hand seaman's manner, while speaking of his 
mother, which touched Eobin deeply. Without a 



224 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 



moment's hesitation he pulled out his bible and read 
a chapter in the Gospel of John. 

"Now you'll pray," said the sailor, to Eobin's 
surprise and embarrassment, for he had never prayed 
in public before, though accustomed from a child to 
make known his wants to God night and morning. 

But our hero was morally as well as physically 
courageous — as every hero should be ! He knelt at 
, once by the sailor's couch, while the others followed 
his example, and, in a few simple sentences, asked 
for pardon, blessing, help, and guidance in the name 
of Jesus Christ. 

Thus peculiarly was bible-reading and family 
worship established on the pirates' island in the 
year eighteen hundred and sixty-eight. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



225 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

AN EXPLOEATION AND AN ACCIDENT. 

For the first few days of their stay on what they 
styled Pirate Island, our castaways were too mnch 
taken up with the wondrous and varied contents of 
the robbers' cave, and the information Meerta and 
Letta had to give, to pay much regard to the island 
itself, or the prospect they had of quitting it. But 
when their interest and curiosity began to abate, 
and the excitement to decrease, they naturally be- 
thought them of the nature and resources of their 
new home. 

Of course they did not for a moment regard it in 
the light of home. It was merely a resting-place, 
— a refuge, where, after their escape from the sea, 
they should spend a few weeks, perhaps months, 
until a passing vessel should take them off. They 
did not know, at that time, that the islet was far 
removed from the usual track of ships, and that, 
like the Pitcairn Islanders, they might be doomed 
to spend many years, perchance a lifetime, on it. 

p 



226 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

Indeed, a considerable time elapsed before they 
would admit to themselves that there was a possi- 
bility of such a fate, although they knew, both from 
Meerta and Letta, that no ship of any kind, save 
that of the pirates, had been seen for the last 
eighteen months, and the few sails that did chance 
to appear, were merely seen for a few hours like 
sea-gulls on the horizon, from which they arose and 
into which they vanished. 

Having then, as we have said, bethought them of 
examining the resources and nature of the island, 
they one morning organised an expedition. By that 
time the sailor, although by no means fit for it, 
insisted that he was sufficiently restored to accom- 
pany them. Letta, who was active and strong like 
a small gazelle, besides being acquainted with the 
whole region, agreed to act as guide. Stumps, 
having sprained his ankle slightly, remained at 
the cave, for the purpose, as he said, of helping 
Meerta with the garden, but Jim Slagg gave him 
credit for laziness. 

" You see," said Sam Shipton, as Letta led them 
down the rugged mountain-side, " we may as well 
make ourselves comfortable while we remain here, 
and I 'm inclined to think that a hut, however 
rough, down in one of these charming valleys, will 
be more agreeable than the gloomy cavern on the 
mountain-top." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 227 

" JSTot SO sure o' that, doctor," said Johnson ; " the 
cave is at all events dry, and a good stronghold in 
case of a visit from pirates." 

"Eut pirates what have bin blow'd to atoms/' 
said Slagg, "ain't likely to turn up again, are they?" 

" That 's so, lad ; but some of their friends might 
pay us a visit, you know." 

" I think not," rejoined Sam ; " there is honour 
among thieves here, no doubt, as elsewhere. I 
daresay it is well known among the fraternity that 
the island belongs to a certain set, and the rest will 
therefore let it alone. What think you, Eobin ?" 

" I 'm inclined to agree with you, Sam, but 
perhaps Letta is the best authority on that point. 
Did you ever see any other set of pirates land here, 
little one, except your — your own set V 

" Only once," answered the child, " another set 
came, but they only stayed one day. They looked 
at everything, looked at me an' Meerta an' laughed 
very much. An' they ate and drank a good deal, 
and fought a little; but they took nothing away, 
and never came back." 

"I thought so," rejoined Sam; "now, all we've 
got to do is to hoist a flag on the highest peak 
of the mountain, and when a vessel comes to take 
us off, load her with as much of the booty as 
she can carry — and then, hurrah for old Eng- 
land!"' 



228 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



" Hooray ! " echoed Jim Slagg, " them 's exactly 
my sentiments." 

"But the booty is not ours to take," objected 
Eobin. 

" Whose is it, then ? " asked Sam ; " the rightful 
owners we don't know, and the wrongful owners are 
defunct," 

" I tell 'ee what it is, mates," said Johnson, " the 
whole o' the booty is mine, 'cause why ? it was me 
as blowed up the owners, so I 'm entitled to it by 
conquest, an' you needn't go to fightin' over it. If 
you behave yourselves, I '11 divide it equally among 
us, share an' share alike." 

" It seems to me, J ohnson," said Eobin, " that in 
strict justice the booty belongs to Letta, Meerta, and 
blind Bungo, as the natural heirs of the pirates." 

" But they 're not the heirs, they are part of the 
booty," said the seaman, " and, as sitch, falls to be 
divided among us." 

" If that 's so," said Slagg, " then I claim Letta 
for my share, and you, Johnson, can have your pick 
of Meerta and blind Bunsjo." 

" Nay, Letta is mine, because I was the first to 
discover her," said Eobin. "Whom will you go 
with, Letta ?" 

" With you, of course," re^Dlied the child quite 
earnestly. "Haven't you promised to take me 
back to mamma ? " 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



229 



" Indeed I have, little one, and if I ever get the 
chance, assuredly I will," said Eobiu, with equal 
earnestness. 

"I say, doctor," said Johnson to Sam, sitting 
down on a mossy bank, " 1 11 stop here and wait for 
you. That rib ain't all square yet." 

" Wilful man," said Sam, " didn't I advise you 
not to come ? There, lie down and take it easy. 
We '11 bring you some fruit on our return." 

By this time the party had reached the valley in 
which the lakelet lay, and beautiful indeed was the 
scene which presented itself as they passed under 
the grateful shade of the palm-trees. Everywhere, 
rich tropical vegetation met their gaze, through the 
openings in which the sunshine poured like streams 
of fire. On the little lake numerous flocks of ducks 
and other fowd were seen swimming in sportive 
mood, while an occasional splash told of fish of 
some sorb below the surface. 

Leaving the sailor in a position whence he could 
observe them for a long distance, the rest of the 
party pushed on. During their rambles they found 
the valley to be much richer in vegetation, and 

« 

more beautiful,- than the distant view from the 
mountain-top had led them to expect. Small 
though the valley was, it contained, among other 
trees, the cocoa-nut palm, the bread-fruit, banana, 
and sandal-wood. There were also pine-apples, 



230 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

wild rice, and custard-apples, some of which latter 
delicious fruit, being ripe, was gathered and carried 
back to J ohnson, whom they found sound asleep and 
much refreshed on their return. 

The expedition proved that, barren though, the 
island appeared from the sea, it contained quite 
enough of the good things of this life to render it a 
desirable abode for man. 

On the coast, too, where the raft had been cast 
ashore, were discovered a variety of shell fish, some 
of which, especially the oysters, were found to be 
excellent food. And some of the sea-fowl turned 
out to be very good eating, though a little fishy, 
while their eggs were as good as those of the 
domestic fowl. 

" It seems to me," said Eobin to Letta one day 
when they were out on a ramble together, " that 
this is quite a little paradise." 

" I don't know what paradise is like," said the 
child. 

"Well, no more do I," returned Eobin, with a 
laugh, " but of course everybody understands that 
it is the place where everything is perfect, and 
where happiness is complete." 

" It cannot be like paradise without mamma," 
said Letta, shaking her pretty head sadly. " I 
would not go to heaven unless mamma was 
there." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



231 



Eobin was silent for some time, as he thought 
of his own mother and the talks he used to have 
with her on this same subject. 

" Letta," he said at length, earnestly, " Jesus will 
be in heaven. It was His Spirit who taught you 
to love mamma as you do, so you are sure to meet 
her there with Him." 

"Nobody taught me to love mamma," returned 
the child quietly ; " I couldn't help it." 

" True, little one, but it was God who made you 
to — 'couldn't help it.'" 

Letta was puzzled by this reply. She raised her 
bright eyes inquiringly into Eobin's honest face, 
and said, " But you 've promised to take me to 
her, you know." 

"Yes, dear little one, but you must not mis- 
understand me," replied the youth somewhat sadly. 
" I promise that, God helping me, I will do the best 
I can to find out where your mother is ; but you 
must remember that I have very little to go on. I 
don't even know your mother's name, or the place 
where you were taken from. By the way, an 
idea has just occurred to me. Have you any 
clothes at the cave ?" 

" Of course I have," answered Letta, with a 
merry laugh. 

" Yes ; but I mean the clothes that you had on 
when you first came here." 



232 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



" I don't know ; Meerta knows. Why ?" 

" Because your name may be marked on them. 
Come, let us go back at once and see. Besides, we 
are wasting time, for you know I was sent out to 
shoot some ducks for dinner." 

Eising as he spoke, Eobin shouldered the shot- 
gun which had been supplied from the robbers' 
armoury, and, descending with his little companion 
towards the lake, soon began to stalk the birds as 
carefully as if he had been trained to the work 
by a Eed Indian. Stooping low, he glided swiftly 
through the bushes, until he came within a hun- 
dred yards of the margin of the lakelet, where *a 
group of some thirty or forty fat ducks were feed- 
ing. Letta had fallen behind, and sat down to 
watch. 

The distance being too great for a shot, and the 
bushes beyond the spot which he had reached 
being too thin to conceal him, Eobin lay flat down, 
and began to advance through the long grass after 
the fashion of a snake, pushing his gun before him. 
It was a slow and tedious process, but Eobin's 
spirit was patient and persevering. He screwed 
himself, as it were, to within sixty yards of the 
flock, and then fired both barrels almost simul- 
taneously. Seven dead birds remained behind 
when the afl'righted flock took wing. 

" It is not very scientific shooting," said Eobin, 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



233 



apologetically, to his fair companion, as she assisted 
him to tie their legs together ; " but our object just 
now is food, not sport." 

On the way back to the cavern they had to 
pass over a narrow ledge, on one side of which 
a precipice descended towards the valley, while 
the other side rose upwards like a wall. It was 
not necessarily a dangerous place. They had passed 
it often before in safety, none of the party being 
troubled with giddiness ; but at this time Kobin 
had unfortunately hung his bundle of ducks on 
the side which had to brush past the rocky wall. 
As he passed, the bunch struck a projection and 
threw him off his balance. In the effort to re- 
cover himself he dislodged a piece of rock under 
his left foot, and, without even a cry, went headlong 
over the precipice ! 

Poor Letta stood rooted to the spot, too horrified 
to scream. She saw her friend, on whom all her 
hopes were built, go crashing through the foliage 
immediately below the precipice edge, and disap- 
pear. It was the first terrible shock she had ever 
received. With a convulsive shudder she ran by a 
dangerously steep route towards the foot of the 
precipice. 

But Eobin had not yet met his doom, although 
he had descended full sixty feet. His fall was 
broken by several leafy trees, through which he 



234 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



went like an avalanche; and a thick solid bush 
receiving him at the foot, checked his descent 
entirely, and slid him quietly off its boughs on to 
the grass, where he lay, stunned, indeed, but other- 
wise uninjured. 

Poor Letta of course was horrified, on reaching 
the spot, to find that Eobin could not speak, and 
was to all appearance dead. In an agony of terror 
she shrieked, and shook him and called him by 
name — to awaken him, as she afterwards said ; but 
Eobin's sleep was too deep at that moment to be 
dispelled by such measures. Letta therefore sprang 
up and ran as fast as she could to the cavern to tell 
the terrible news and fetch assistance. 

Eobin, however, was not left entirely alone in his 
extremity. It so chanced that a remarkably small 
monkey was seated among the boughs of a neigh- 
bouring tree, eating a morsel of fruit, when Letta's 
first scream sounded through the grove. Cocking 
up one ear, it arrested its little hand on the way to 
its lesser mouth, and listened. Its little black face 
was corrugated with the wrinkles of care — it might 
be of fun, we cannot tell. The only large features 
of the creature were its eyes, and these seemed to 
blaze, while the brows rose high, as if in surprise. 

On hearing the second scream the small monkey 
laid hold of a bough with its tail, swung itself off, 
and caught another with its feet, sprang twenty feet. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 235 



more or less, to the ground, whicli it reached on its 
hands, tumbled a somersault inadvertently, and 
went skipping over the ground at a great rate in the 
direction of the cries. 

When it reached the spot, however, Letta had 
fled, but Eobin still lay motionless on his back. It 
was evident that the small monkey looked on the 
prostrate youth with alarm and suspicion, yet with 
an intense curiosity that no sense of danger could 
restrain. It walked slowly and inquiringly round 
him several times, each time drawing closer, while 
its crouched back and trailing tail betokened abject 
humility. Then it ventured to put out a small 
black hand and touch him, drawing it back again as 
if it had got an electric shock. Then it ventured 
to touch him again, with less alarm. After that it 
went close up, and gazed in his face. 

Familiarity, says the proverb, breeds contempt. 
The truth of proverbs can be verified by monkeys as 
well as men. Seeing that nothing came of its ad- 
vances, that small monkey finally leaped on Eobin's 
chest, sat down thereon, and stared into his open 
mouth. Still the youth moved not, whereupon the 
monkey advanced a little and laid its paw upon his 
nose ! Either the touch was more effective thanLetta's 
shaking, or time was bringing Eobin round, for he 
felt his nose tickled, and gave way to a tremendous 
sneeze. It blew the monkey clean off its legs, and 



236 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



sent it shrieking into a neighbouring tree. As 
Eobin still lay quiet, the monkey soon recovered, 
and returned to its former position, where, regardless 
of consequences, it again laid hold of the nose. 

This time consciousness returned. Eobin opened 
his eyes with a stare of dreamy astonishment. The 
monkey replied with a stare of indignant surprise. 
Robin's eyebrows rose still higher. So did those of 
the monkey as it leaped back a foot, and formed 
its mouth into a little 0 of remonstrance. Eobin's 
mouth expanded; he burst into an uncontrollable 
fit of laughter, and the monkey was again on the 
eve of flight, when voices were heard approaching, 
and, next instant, Letta came running forward, 
followed at some distance by Sam and the others. 

"Oh! my dear, sweet, exquisite darling!" ex- 
claimed Letta. 

It did much for the poor youth's recovery, the 
hearing himself addressed in such endearing terms, 
but he experienced a relapse when the monkey, 
responding to the endearments, ran with obvious 
joy into the child's bosom, and submitted to a warm 
embrace. 

" Oh, you darling !" repeated Letta; " where have 
you been ? why did you go away ? I thought you 
were dead, Naughty thing !" 

EecoUecting Eobin with a shock of self-reproach, 
she dropped the monkey and ran to him. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



237 



" It is an old friend, I see/' he said with a languid 
smile, as she came up. 

" Yes, yes ; an old pet. I had lost him for a long 
time. But you 're not killed ? Oh ! I'm so glad." 

"Killed!" repeated Sam, who was down on his 
knees carefully examining the patient ; " 1 should 
think not. He 's not even bruised — only stunned a 
little. Where did you fall from, Eobin — the tree- 
top?" 

" No ; from the edge of the precipice." 

" What ! from the ledge sixty or seventy feet up 
there ? Impossible ! You would certainly have 
been killed if you had fallen from that." 

" So I certainly should," returned Eobin, " if God 
had not in His mercy grown trees and shrubs there, 
expressly, among other purposes, to save me." 

In this reply Eobin's mind was running on 
previous conversations which he had had with his 
friend on predestination. 

The idea of shrubs and trees having been ex- 
pressly grown on an island of the Southern Seas 
to save an English boy, seemed doubtful to Sam. 
He did not, however, express his doubts at the time, 
but reserved the subject for a future " theological 
discussion." 

Meanwhile, Slagg, Stumps, and Johnson, having 
spread some palm branches on a couple of stout 
poles, laid our hero thereon, and bore him in safety 



238 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



to the pirates' cave, where, for several days, he lay 
on one of the luxurions couches, tenderly nursed 
by Letta and the old woman, who, although she 
still pathetically maintained that the " roberts an' 
pyrits wasn't all so bad as each oder," was quite 
willing to admit that her present visitors were 
preferable, and that, upon the whole, she was rather 
fond of them. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



239 



CHAPTEE XX. 

VARIOUS SUBJECTS TREATED OF, AND A GREAT FIGHT DETAILED. 

It was the habit of Eobin and his friends at this 
time, the weather being extremely fine and cool, to 
sit at the month of their cavern of an evening, 
chatting about the events of the day, or the pro- 
spects of the future, or the experiences of the past, 
while old Meerta busied herself preparing supper 
over a fire kindled on the ground. 

No subject was avoided on these occasions, be- 
cause the friends were harmoniously minded, in 
addition to which the sweet influences of mingled 
star-light and fire-light, soft air, and lovely prospect 
of land and sea — to say nothing of the prospect of 
supper — all tended to induce a peaceful and for- 
bearing spirit. 

"Well, now," said Eobin, continuing a subject 
which often engaged their intellectual powers, "it 
seems to me simple enough." 

"Simple!" exclaimed Johnson, with a half sar- 
castic laugh, "w'y, now, you an' the doctor 'ave 



240 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



tried to worrit that electricity into my brain for 
many months, off an' on, and I do believe as I 'm 
more muddled about it to-night than I was at the 
beginnin'." 

" P'raps it 's because you hain't got no brains to 
work upon," suggested Slagg. 

"P'r'aps it is," humbly admitted the seaman. 
" But look here, now, doctor," he added, turning to 
Sam with his brow knotted up into an agony of 
mental endeavour, and the forefinger of one hand 
thrust into the palm of the other, — "look here. 
You tells me that electricity ain't a substance at all." 

" Yes, that 's so," assented Sam with a nod. 

" Wery good. l!^"ow, then, if it ain't a substance 
at all, it's notliin'. An' if it's nothin', how can 
you go an' talk of it as somethin' an' give it a name, 
an' tell me it works the telegraph, an' does all 
manner of wonderful things ?" 

"But it does not follow that a thing must be 
nothing because it isn't a substance. Don't you 
see, man, that an idea is something, yet it is not a 
substance. Thought, which is so potent a factor 
in this world, is not a substance, yet it cannot be 
called nothing. It is a condition — it is the result 
of brain-atoms in action. Electricity is sometimes 
described as an 'invisible imponderable fluid,' but 
that is not quite correct, because a fluid is a sub- 
stance. It is a better definition to say that elec- 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



241 



tricity is a manifestation of energy — a result of 
substance in action!' 

"There, I'm muddled again !" said Johnson, with 
a look of hopeless incapacity. 

" Small blame to you, Johnson," murmured Slagg, 
who had done his best to understand, while Stumps 
sat gazing at the speakers with an expression of 
blank complacency. 

"Look here, Johnson," said Sam, "you've often 
seen men shaking a carpet, haven't you ?" 

" In coorse I have." 

" Well, have you not observed the waves of the 
carpet that roll along it when shaken ?" 
"Yes, I have." 
" What are these waves ? " 

"Well, sir, I should say they was the carpet," 
replied Johnson. 

"ISTo, the waves are not the carpet. When the 
waves reach the end of the carpet they disappear. 
If the waves were the carpet, the carpet would 
disappear. The same waves in a whip, soft and 
undulating though they be, result in a loud crack, 
as you know." 

"Muddled again," said Johnson. 

"Ditto," said Slagg. 

"Why, I'm not muddled a bit!" suddenly ex- 
claimed Stumps, with a half-contemptuous laugh. 
" Of coorse you 're not," retorted Slagg. " Brain- 

Q 



242 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



less things never git into that state. You never 
heard of a turnip bein' muddled, did you ?" 

Stumps became vacant, and Sam went on, 

" Well, you see, the waves are not substance. 
They are a condition — a result of atoms in motion. 
Now, when the atoms of a substance are disturbed 
by friction, or by chemical action, they get into a 
state of violent commotion, and try wildly to fly 
from, or to, each other. This effort to fly about 
is energy. When the atoms get into a very intense 
state of commotion they have a tendency to induce 
explosion, unless a way of escape is found — escape for 
the energy, not for the atoms. Now, when you cause 
chemical disturbance in an electric battery, the 
energy thus evolved is called electricity, and we 
provide a conductor of escape for it in the shape of 
a copper or other metal wire, which we may carry to 
any distance we please, and the energy runs along it, 
as the wave runs along the carpet, as long as you 
keep up the commotion in the battery among the 
excited atoms of copper and zinc." 

" Mud — no, not quite. I have got a glimmer o' 
su'thin'," said Johnson. 

" Ditto," said Slagg. 

" Supper," said old Meerta. 

" Ha ! that 's the battery for me," cried Stumps, 
jumping up. 

"Not a bad one either," said Eobin, as they 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEE. 243 

entered the cave ; " alternate plates of beef and 
greens, steeped in some such acid as lemonade, 
cause a wonderful commotion in the atoms of the 
human body," 

" True, Eobin, and the energy thereby evolved," 
said Sam, " sometimes bursts forth in brilliant 
sparks of wit — to say nothing of flashes of 
absurdity." 

" An' thunderin' stoopidity," added Slagg. 

Further converse on the subject was checked at 
that time by what Sam termed the charging of the 
human batteries. The evening meal went on in 
silence and very pleasantly for some time, but 
before its close it was interrupted in an alarming 
manner by the sudden entrance of Letta with wild 
excitement in her eyes. 

" Oh! " she cried, pointing back to the entrance of 
the cave, " a ship ! — pirate ship coming ! " 

A bombshell could scarcely have produced greater 
effect. Each individual leaped up and darted out, 
flushing deep red or turning pale, according to 
temperament. They were not long in verifying 
the statement. A ledge of rocks concealed the 
entrance to the cavern from the sea. Over its 
edge could be seen the harbour in which they had 
found the vessel whose total destruction has been 
described; and there, sure enough, they beheld 
a similar vessel, though considerably smaller, in 



244 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



the act of furling her sails and dropping anchor. 
There could be no doubt as to her character, for 
although too distant to admit of her crew being 
distinguished by star-light, her rig and general 
appearance betrayed her. 

"N'ot a moment to be lost, Eobin," said Sam 
Shipton hurriedly, as he led the way back to the 
cavern, where old Meerta and blind Bungo, aided 
by Letfca, had already cleared away all evidence of 
the late feast, leaving only three tin cups and three 
pewter plates on the table, with viands appropriate 
thereto. 

" Ha ! you 're a knowing old lady," exclaimed 
Sam, " you understand how to help us, I see," 

" Me tink so ! " replied Meerta, with an intelli- 
gent nod. " On'y us free here. All de pyrits gone 
away. Dem sinners on'y come here for a feed — 
p'r'aps for leetil poodre. Soon go away." 

" Just so," said Sam, " meanwhile we will hide, 
and return after they are gone, or, better still, if 
you, Letta, and Bungo will come and hide with us, 
I '11 engage to lay a train of powder from the 
barrels inside to somewhere outside, and blow the 
reptiles and the whole mountain into the sea ! 
There 's powder enough to do it." 

"You tink me one divl ?" demanded the old woman 
indignantly. " No, some o' dem pyrits not so bad as 
each oder. You let 'em alone ; me let you alone." 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 245 

This gentle intimation that Meerta had their 
lives in her hand, induced Sam to ask modestly 
what she would have him do. 

" Go," she replied promptly, " take rifles, swords, 
an' poodre. Hide till pyrits go 'way. If de finds 
you — fight. Better fight dan be skin alive ! " 

" Unquestionably," said Sam, with a mingled 
laugh and shudder, in which his companions joined 
— as regards the shudder at least, if not the laugh. 

Acting promptly on the suggestion, Sam armed 
himself and his comrades each with a good breech- 
loading rifle, as much ammunition as he could con- 
veniently carry, and an English sword. Then, 
descending the mountain on the side opposite to 
the harbour they disappeared in the dark and 
tangled underwood of the palm-grove. Letta went 
a short distance with them. 

" They won't kill Meerta or blind Bungo," she 
said, on the way down. " They 're too useful, 
though they often treat them badly. Meerta sent 
me away to hide here the last time the strange 
bad men came. She thinks I go hide to-night, but 
I won't ; so, good-night." 

" But surely you don't mean to put yourself in 
the power of the pirates ?" said Eobin. 

" No, never fear," returned the child with a 
laugh. " I know how to see them without they 
see me." 



246 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 



Before further remonstrance could be made, the 
active child had bounded up the pathway and dis- 
appeared, 

'Not long after Sam and his comrades had taken 
their departure, the pirates came up to the cavern 
in a body — about forty of them — well armed and 
ready to fight if need be. They were as rascally 
a set of cut-throats as one could desire to see — 
or, rather, not to see — of various nationality, with 
ugly countenances and powerful frames, which 
were clothed in more or less fantastic Eastern 
garb. Their language, like themselves, was mixed, 
and, we need scarcely add, unrefined. The little 
that was interchanged between them and Meerta 
we must, however, translate. 

"What! alive still!" cried the ruffian, who 
appeared to be the leader of the band, flinging him- 
self down on a couch with the air of a man who 
knew the place well, while his men made them- 
selves at home. 

Meerta merely smiled to the salutation ; that is 
to say, she grinned. 

" AVhere are they?" demanded the pirate-chief, 
referring of course to those who, the reader is 
aware, were blown up. 

" Gone away," answered Meerta. 

" Far away ?" asked the pirate. 

" Yes, very far away." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



247 



" Goin' to be long away ?" 
" Ho ! yes, very long." 

" Where's the little girl they took from Sarawak V 
" Gone away." 
"Where away?" 
" Don't know." 

" Now, look here, you old hag," said the pirate, 
drawing a pistol from his belt and levelling it, 
"tell the truth about that girl, else I'll scatter 
your brains on the floor. Where has she gone to ?" 

" Don't know," repeated Meerta, with a look of 
calm indifference, as she took up a tankard and 
wiped it out with a cloth. 

The man steadied the pistol and pressed the 
trigger. 

" You better wait till .she has given us our grub," 
quietly suggested one of the men. 

The leader replaced the weapon in the shawl 
which formed his girdle, and said, " Get it ready 
quick — the best you have, and bring us some wine 
to begin with." 

Soon after that our friends, while conversing in 
low tones in the grove, heard the unmistakeable 
sounds of revelry issue from the cave. 

"What think you, boys," said Sam suddenly, 
"shall we go round to the harbour, surprise and kill 
the guard, seize the pirate-ship, up anchor and leave 
these villains to enjoy themselves as best they may ?" 



248 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



" What ! and leave Letta, not to mention Meerta 
and Bungo, behind ns ? Never !" 

" I forgot them for the moment," said Sam. " Ko; 
we can't do that." 

As he spoke the noise of revelry became louder 
and degenerated into sounds of angry disputation. 
Then several shots were heard, followed by the 
clashing of steel and loud yells. 

Surely that was a female voice," said Eobin, 
rising and rushing up the steep path that led to the 
cavern, closely followed by his comrades. 

They had not gone a hundred yards when they 
were arrested by hearing a rustling in the bushes 
and the sound of hasty footsteps. Next instant 
Letta was seen running towards them, with glaring 
eyes and streaming hair. She sprang into Eobin's 
arms with a convulsive sob, and hid her white face 
on his breast. 

" Speak, Letta, dear child ! Are you hurt ?" 

" No, 0 no ; but Meerta, darling Meerta, she is 
dead ! They have shot her and Bungo." 

She burst again into convulsive sobbing. 

" Dead ! But are you sure — quite sure ? " said 
Sam. 

" Quite. I saw their brains scattered on the 
wall. Oh, Meerta !— " 

She ended in a low wail, as though her heart 
were broken. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



249 



"'Now, boys/' said Johnson, who had hitherto 
maintained silence, " we must go to work an' try to 
cut out the pirate-ship. It 's a good chance, and 
it 's our only one." 

" Yes, there 's nothing to prevent us trying it now," 
said Eohin, sadly, " and the sooner the better." 

" Lucky that we made up the parcels last night, 
warn't it ?" said Jim Slagg, as they made hasty 
arrangements for carrying out their plan. 

Jim referred to parcels of rare and costly jewels 
which each of them had selected from the pirate 
store, put into separate bags and hid away in the 
woods, to be ready in case of any sudden occasion 
arising — such as had now actually arisen — to quit 
the island. Going to the place where these bags 
were concealed, they slung them over their shoulders 
and set off at a steady run, or trot, for the harbour, 
each taking his turn in carrying Letta, for the 
poor child was not fit to walk, much less to 
run. 

Stealthy though their movements were, however, 
they did not altogether escape detection. Two 
bright eyes had been watching Letta during all her 
wanderings that night, and two nimble feet had 
followed her when she ran affrighted from the 
pirates' stronghold. The party was overtaken 
before half the distance to the harbour had been 
gained, and at length, with a cry of satisfaction, 



250 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



Letta's favourite — the small monkey — sprang upon 
her shoulder. In this position, refusing to move, 
he was carried to the coast. 

As had been anticipated, the pirate vessel was 
found lying in the pool where the former ship had 
anchored. Being considerably smaller, however, it 
had been drawn close to the rocks, so that a landing 
had been effected by means of a broad plank or 
gangway instead of a boat. Fortunately for our 
friends, this plank had not been removed after the 
pirates had left, probably because they deemed 
themselves in a place of absolute security. As far 
as they could see, only one sentinel paced the deck. 

" I shouldn't wonder if the guard is a very small 
one," whispered Sam to Eobin, as they crept to the 
edge of the shrubs which lined the harbour, and 
surveyed their intended prize. "No doubt they 
expected to meet only with friends here — or with 
nobody at all, as it has turned out, — and have left 
just enough to guard their poor slaves." 

"We shall soon find out," returned Sam. "Now, 
boys," he said, on rejoining the others in the bush, 
"see that your revolvers are charged and handy, 
but don't use them if you can avoid it." 

"A cut over the head with cold steel will be 
sufficiently effective, for we have no desire to kill. 
Nevertheless, don't be particular. We can't afford 
to measure our blows with such scoundrels; only if 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 251 

we fire we shall alarm those in the cave, and have 
less time to get under weigh." 

" What is to be done with Letta while we attack?" 
asked Eobin. 

" I 'll wait here till you come for me," said Letta, 
with a sad little smile on her tear-bedewed face ; 
" I 'm qnite used to see fighting." 

" Good, keep close, and don't move from this spot 
till we come for you, my little heroine," said Sam. 
"JSTow, boys, follow me in single file — tread like 
mice — don't hurry. There 's nothing like keeping 
cool." 

" Not much use o' saying that to a feller that 's 
red-hot," growled Slagg, as he stood with a flushed 
face, a revolver in one hand and a cutlass in the 
other. 

Sam, armed similarly, glided to the extreme verge 
of the bushes, between which and the water there 
was a space of about thirty yards. With a quiet 
cat-like run he crossed this space, rushed up the 
plank gangway, and leaped upon the deck, with his 
comrades close at his heels. The sentinel was taken 
completely by surprise, but drew his sword never- 
theless, and sprang at Sam with a shout. * 

The latter, although not a professional warrior, 
had been taught singlestick at school, and was an 
expert swordsman. He parried the pirate's furious 
thrust, and gave him what is technically termed cut 



252 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



ISTo. 1, which clove his turban to the skull and 
stretched him on the deck. It was a fortunate cnt, 
for the shout had brought up seven pirates, five 
from below and two from the fore-part of the vessel, 
where they had been asleep between two guns. 
With these his comrades were now engaged in mortal 
combat — three of them having simultaneously at- 
tacked Johnson, while two had assailed Jim Slagg. 

When Sam turned round the stout sailor had cut 
down one of his foes, but the other two would 
probably have proved too much for him if Sam had 
not instantly engaged one of them. He was a 
powerful, active man, so that for nearly a minute 
they cut and thrust at each other without advantage 
to either, until Sam tried a feint thrust, which he 
followed up with a tremendous slash at -the head. 
It took effect, and set him free to aid Slagg, who 
was at the moment in deadly peril, for poor Slagg 
was no swordsman, and had hitherto foiled his two 
antagonists by sheer activity and the fury of his 
assaults. He was quite collected, however, for, 
even in the extremity of his danger, he had refrained 
from using his revolver lest he should thereby give 
the alarm to the pirates on land. With one stroke 
Sam disposed of one of the scoundrels, and Slagg 
succeeded in cutting down the other. 

Meanwhile our hero, Eobin, and Stumps had at- 
tacked the two pirates who chanced to be nearest to 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



253 



them. The former thought of Letta and her wretched 
fate if this assault should fail. The thought filled 
his little body with such a gush of what seemed to 
him like electric fire, that he leaped on his opponent 
with the fury of a wild cat, and bore him backward, 
so that he stumbled over the combings of a hatch- 
way and was thrown flat on the deck — hors de 
combat. 

But Stumps was not so fortunate. Slow in all 
his movements, and not too courageous in spirit, 
he gave way before the villain who assailed him. 
It was not indeed much to his discredit, for the 
man was much larger, as well as more active 
and fierce, than himself. A cut from the pirate's 
sword quickly laid him low, and his antagonist 
instantly turned on Eobin. He was so near at 
the moment that neither of them could effectively 
use his weapon. Eobin therefore dashed the hilt 
of his sword into the man's face and grappled 
with him. It was a most unequal struggle, for 
the pirate was, as we have said, a huge fellow, 
while Eobin was small and slight. But there 
were several things in our hero's favour. He was 
exceedingly tough and wonderfully strong for his 
size, besides being active as a kitten and brave as a 
lion. The way that Eobin Wright wriggled in that 
big man's embrace, hammered his nose and eyes 
with the iron hilt of his cutlass, stuck his knees 



254 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



into the pit of his stomach, and assaulted his shins 
with the toes of boots, besides twisting his left 
hand into his hair like a vice, was wonderful to 
behold. 

It was all Letta's doing ! The more hopeless the 
struggle felt, the more hapless did Letta's fate 
appear to Eobin, and the more furious did the spirit 
within rise above its disadvantages. In the whirl 
of the fight the pirate's head chanced for one 
moment to be in proximity to a large iron block. 
Eobin observed it, threw all his soul and body 
into one supreme effort, and launched his foe and 
himself against the block. Both heads met it at 
the same moment, and the combatants rolled from 
each other's grasp. The pirate was rendered in- 
sensible, but Eobin, probably because of being 
lighter, was only a little stunned. 

Eecovering in a moment he sprang up, glanced 
round, observed that the pirates were almost, if not 
quite overpowered, and leaped over the bulwarks. 
A few moments later and he had Letta in his arms. 
Just then a pistol shot rang in the night air. The 
last of the pirates who was overpowered chanced 
to use his fire-arm, though without success. It was 
fortunate the fight was over, for, now that the 
alarm had been given, they knew that their chance 
of escaping was greatly lessened. 

" Cut the cable, Slagg. Out with a boat-hook, 




mmi^ m&CUEH LETTA.— Page 255. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 255 

Johnson, ready to shove off. Ill fetch Letta/' 
cried Sam, springing to the side. 

He was almost run down, as he spoke, by Eobin 
with the child in his arms. 

" Ha ! Eobin — well done, my boy. Here, Letta, 
you understand the language, tell the slaves below 
to out oars and pull for their lives. It 's their 
only chance." 

The poor creatures, who were bound to the 
thwarts below deck, had been listening with dull 
surprise to the fighting on deck — not that fighting 
was by any means unusual in that vessel, but they 
must have known that they were in harbour, and 
that the main body of the pirates were on shore. 
Still greater was their surprise when they received 
the above order in the sweet gentle tones of a 
child's voice. 

Whether they deemed her an angel or not we 
cannot tell, but their belief in her right to com- 
mand was evinced by their shoving the oars out 
with alacrity. 

A few seconds sufficed to cut the cable, and the 
gangway fell into the sea with a loud splash as the 
vessel moved slowly from the land, while Johnson, 
Eobin, and Slagg thrust with might and main 
at the boat-hooks. The oars could not be dipped 
or used until the vessel had been separated a . few 
yards from the land, and it was during the delay 



266 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEK. 



caused by this operation that their greatest danger 
lay, for already the pirates were heard calling to 
each other among the cliffs. 

" Pull, pull now for life, boys," shouted Sam as 
he seized the helm. 

"Pull, pull now for life, boys," echoed the 
faithful translator in her silvery tones. 

The oars dipped and gurgled through the water. 
There was no question as to the energy of the poor 
captives, but the vessel was heavy and sluggish at 
starting. She had barely got a couple of hundred 
yards from the shore, when the pirates from the 
cavern came running tumultuously out of the woods. 
Perceiving at once that their vessel had been 
captured, they rushed into the water and swam 
off, each man with his sword between his teeth. 

They were resolute villains, and swam vigorously 
and fast. Sam knew that if such a swarm should 
gain the side of the vessel, no amount of personal 
valour could prevent recapture. He therefore 
encouraged the slaves to redoubled effort. These 
responded to the silvery echo, but so short had been 
the distance gained that the issue seemed doubtful. 

" Give 'em a few shots, boys." cried Sam, drawing 
his own revolver and firing back over the stern. 
The others followed his example and discharged 
all their revolvers, but without apparent effect, for 
the pirates still came on. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEK. 



257 



One of the sails had fortunately been left un- 
furled. At this moment a light puff of air from the 
land bulged it out, and sensibly increased their 
s^Deed. 

"Hurrah!" shouted Johnson, "lend a hand, boys, 
to haul taut." 

The sail was trimmed, and in a few minutes the 
vessel glided quickly away from her pursuers. 

A loud British cheer announced the fact alike to 
pirates and slaves, so that the latter were heartened 
to greater exertion, while the former were dis- 
couraged. In a few minutes they gave up the chase 
with a yell of rage, and turned to swim for the 
shore. 

About a hundred yards from the mouth of the 
harbour there lay a small islet — a mere rock. Here 
Sam resolved to leave the pirate guard, none of 
whom had been quite killed — indeed two of them 
had tried unsuccessfully to rise during the fight. 

" You see," said Sam, as he steered for the rock, 
" we don't want to have either the doctoring or the 
killing of such scoundrels. They will be much 
better with their friends, who will be sure to swim 
off for them — perhaps use our raft for the purpose, 
which they will likely find, sooner or later." 

They soon ranged up alongside of the island, and 
in a few minutes the bodies of the pirates were 
landed and laid there side by side. While tiiey 



258 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

were being laid down, the man who had fought with 
Eobin made a sudden and furious grasp at John- 
son's throat with one hand, and at his knife with 
the other, but the seaman was too quick for him. 
He felled him with a blow of his fist. The others, 
although still alive, were unable to show fight. 

Then, hoisting the mainsail, and directing their 
course to the northward, our adventurers slipped 
quietly over the sea, and soon left Pirate Island far 
out of sight behind them. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 



259 



CHAPTEE XXI. 

DEPARTURE FROM PIRATE ISLAND AND HOPEFUL NEWS AT SARAWAK. 

The vessel of wliicli Eobin and liis friends had 
thus become possessed, was one of those numerous 
native pirate ships which did, and we believe still 
do, infest some parts of the Malay Archipelago — 
ships which can assume the form and do the work 
of simple trading vessels when convenience requires, 
or can hoist the black flag when circumstances 
favour. It was not laden with anything valuable 
at the time of its capture. The slaves who wrought 
at the oars when wind failed, were wretched 
creatures who had been captured among the various 
islands, and many of them were in the last stage of 
exhaustion, having been worked almost to death by 
tlieir inhuman captors, though a good many were 
still robust and fresh. 

These latter it was resolved to keep still in fetters, 
as it was just possible that some of them, if freed, 
might take a fancy to seize the ship and become 
pirates on their own account. They were treated 



260 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 

as well as circumstances would admit of, however, 
and given to understand that they should be landed 
and set free as soon as possible. Meanwhile, no 
more w^ork would be required of them than was 
absolutely necessary. Those of them who were ill 
were freed at once from toil, carefullv nursed bv 
Letta and doctored by Sam. 

At first Eobin and his comrades sailed away 
without any definite purpose in view, but after 
things had been got into order, a council was held 
and plans were discussed. It was then that 
Letta mentioned what the pirates in the cavern 
had said about her having been taken from 
Sarawak. 

"Sarawak!" exclaimed Eobin, "why, that's the 
place that has been owned and governed for many 
years by an Englishman named Brooke — Sir James 
Brooke, if I remember rightly, and they call liimEajah 
Brooke. Perhaps your mother lives there, Letta." 

"Wh ere is Sarawak ?" asked Stumps, whose in- 
juries in the recent fight were not so severe as had 
at first been supposed. 

" It 's in the island of Borneo," replied Sam ; 
"you're right, Eobin — " 

" JSTo, he 's Eobin Wright," interrupted Slagg. 

" Be quiet, Jim. I think it is highly probable 
that your parents are there, Letta, and as we have 
no particular reason for going anywhere else, and 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



261 



can't hope to make for England in a tab like this, 
we will just lay her head for Sarawak." 

This was accordingly done, their new course being 
nor'- east and by east. 

It would extend our tale to undue proportions 
were we to give in detail all the adventures they 
experienced, dangers they encountered, and hair- 
breadth escapes they made, between that point on 
the wide southern ocean and the Malay Archipelago. 
The reader must be content to skip over the voyage, 
and to know that they ultimately arrived at the 
port of Sarawak, wdiere they were kindly treated by 
a deputy, the Eajah himself being absent at the 
time. 

During the voyage, the subject of finding Letta's 
parents became one of engrossing and increasing 
interest, — so much so, indeed, that even electricity 
and telegraph- cables sank into secondary importance. 
They planned, over and over again, the way in which 
they would set about makiug inquiries, and the 
various methods which they would adopt in pursuit 
of their end. They even took to guessing who 
Letta's parents would turn out to be, and Sam went 
so far as to invent and relate romantic stories, in 
which the father and mother of Letta played a con- 
spicuous part. He called them Colonel and Mrs. 
Montmorenci for convenience, which Slagg reduced 
to Col. and Mrs. Monty " for short." 



262 TtTE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

In all this Letta took great delight, chiefly be- 
cause it held the conversation on that source of 
undying interest, "mamma," and partly because 
she entered into the fun and enjoyed the romance 
of the thing, while, poor child, her hopeful spirit 
never for a moment doubted that in some form 
or other the romance would become a reality 
through Eobin, on whom she had bestowed her 
highest affections— next, of course, to mamma. 

On landing at Sarawak, Sam Shipton went direct 
to the Government offices to report the capture of 
the pirate vessel and to make inquiries as to Letta's 
parents, leaving Eobin and the others to watch the 
vessel. 

"Isn't it strange," said John Johnson to Eobin, 
as they leaned over the side and looked down 
into the clear water, "that a Englishman should 
become a Eajah, and get possession o' this here 
country ?" 

" I can give you only a slight reply to that ques- 
tion/' replied Eobin, "but Sam will enlighten you 
more than I can ; he seems to be acquainted with 
the Eajah's strange career. All I know is, that he 
is said to govern the country well." 

" Coorious," said Johnson ; " I shouldn't like to 
settle down in sitch a nest o' pirates. Hows'ever, 
every man to his taste, as Jack said when the shark 
swallowed his sou'wester. D'ee think it's likely, 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



263 



sir, that we '11 find out who the parents o' poor Miss 
Letta is?" 

Eobin shook his head. " I 'm not very hopeful. 
We have so little information to go upon — ^just one 
word, — Sarawak ! Nevertheless, I don't despair, and 
T '11 certainly not be beat without trying hard. But 
here comes Sam; he looks pleased. I think — I 
hope, he has good news for us." 

" I 've got something, but not much," replied Sam 
to the eager inquiries with which he was assailed. 
" The gentleman whom I saw knew nothing about 
a little girl having been kidnapped from this region 
within the last two or three years, but an old clerk 
or secretary, who heard us talking about it, came up 
scratching his nose with the feather of his quill, and 
humbly said that he had heard something about a 
girl disappearing at a fire somewhere, though he 
couldn't recollect the name of the place, as he was 
ill at the time, besides being new to the country, 
but he thought there was a Malay, a drunken 
old fellow, living some five miles inland, who used 
to talk about something of the sort, and who had, he 
fancied, been in the service of the people whose 
house had been burned. But, altogether, he was 
very hazy on the subject. 

" Then we must go and ferret out this old man 
instantly," said Ptobin, buttoning up his coat, as if 
about to commence the journey at once. 



2G4 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER 



" Too late to-night, Eobin," said Sam; "restrain 
your impatience, my boy. You forget that it some- 
times gets dark in these latitudes, and that there 
are no street lamps on the country roads." 

" True, true, Sam. And what said they about our 
capture ?" 

" That we must leave it in their hands at 
present ; that they did not know exactly what the 
Eajah might have to say about it, but that he 
would be there himself in a few weeks, and decide 
the matter." 

" Ton my word that 's cool," said Slagg, who 
came up at the moment ; " an' suppose we wants to 
continue our vyage to England, or Indy, or Chiny ?" 

" If we do we must continue it by swimming," 
returned Sam ; " but it matters little, for there is a 
steamer expected to touch here in a few days on 
her way to India, so we can take passage in her, 
having plenty of funds — thanks to the pirates ! " 

It 's all very well for you to boast of bein' 
rich," growled Stumps, but I won't be able to 
afford it." 

" Oh ! yes you will," returned Eobin with a 
laugh. " The Jews will advance you enough on 
your jewellery to pay your passage." 

" Sarves you right for bein' so greedy," said 
Slagg. 

The greed wliich Slagg referred to had been dis- 



I 

THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 2G5 

played by Stumps at the time the parcels of coin 
and precious stones were made up in the cavern for 
sudden emergency, as before mentioned. On that 
occasion each man had made up his own parcel, 
selecting such gems, trinkets, and coin from the 
pirate horde as suited his fancy. Unfortunately, 
the sight of so much wealth had roused in the heart 
of Stumps feelings of avarice, which heretofore had 
lain dormant, and he stuffed many glittering and 
superb pieces of jewellery into his bag in a secre- 
tive manner, as if half ashamed of his new sensa- 
tions, and half afraid that his right to them might 
be disputed. 

Afterwards, on the voyage to Borneo, when the 
bags were emptied and their costly contents ex- 
amined, it was discovered that many of Stumps's 
most glittering gems were mere paste — almost 
worthless — although some of them, of course, were 
valuable. Stumps was much laughed at, and in a 
private confabulation of his comrades, it was agreed 
that they would punish him by contrasting their 
own riches with his glittering trash, but that at 
last they would give him a share which would 
make all the bags equal. This deceptive treatment, 
however, wrought more severely on Stumps than 
they had expected, and roused not only jealous but 
revengeful feelings in his breast. 

'Next morning, Sam and Eobin set off with Lelta 



266 THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEE. 



to search for the old Malay, leaving their comrades 
in charge of the vessel. 

There is something inexpressibly delightful to the 
feelings in passing through the glades and thickets 
of tropical forests and plantations after a long sea 
voyage. The nostrils seem to have been specially 
prepared, by long abstinence from sweet smells, to 
appreciate the scents and odours of aromatic plants 
and flowers. The soft shade of foliage, the refresh- 
ing green, and the gay colours everywhere, fill the 
eye with pleasure, not less exquisite than that 
which fills the ears from the warblings and chat- 
terings of birds, the gentle tones of domestic 
animals, and the tinkling of rills. The mere 
solidity of the land, under foot, forms an ele- 
ment of pleasure after the tossings of the restless 
sea, and all the sweet influences put together tend 
to rouse in the heart a shout of joy and deep 
gratitude for a world so beautiful, and for powers 
so sensitively capable of enjoying it. 

Especially powerful were the surrounding influ- 
ences on our three friends as they proceeded, mile 
after mile, into the country, and little wonder, for 
eyes, and nostrils, and ears, which had of late drunk 
only of the blue heavens and salt sea and the 
music of the wind, naturally gloated over a land 
which produces sandal-wood, cinnamon, turmeric, 
ginger, benzoin, camphor, nutmeg, and a host of 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



267 



other gums and spices ; a land whose shades are 
created by cocoa-nut palms, ebony, banana, bread- 
fruit, gutta-percha, upas, sesamum, and a vast 
variety of other trees and shrubs, the branches 
of which are laden with fruits, and flowers, and 
paroquets, and monkeys. 

Little Letta's heart was full to overflowing, so 
much so that she could scarcely speak while walk- 
ing along holding Eobin's hand. But there was 
more than mere emotion in her bosom — memory 
was strangely busy in her brain, puzzling her with 
dreamy recognitions both as to sights and sounds. 

" It's so like home I" she murmured once, looking 
eagerly round. 

" Is it ?" said Robin with intense interest. " Look 
hard at it, little one ; do you recognise any object 
that used to be in your old home ? " 

The child shook her head sadly. "Xo, not 
exactly — everything is so like, and— and yet not 
like, somehow." 

They came just then upon a clearing among 
sugar-cane, in the midst of which stood a half- 
ruined hut, quite open in front and thatched with 
broad leaves. On a bench near the entrance was 
seated an old grey-haired Malay man with a bottle 
beside him. I»[earer to the visitors a young girl 
was digging in the ground. 

" That 's the old Malay, for certain," said Sam ; 



268 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 

1 

" see, the old rascal has gone pretty deep already 
into the bottle. Ask the girl, Letta, what his 
name is." 

Sam did not at first observe that the child was 
trembling very much and gazing eagerly at the old 
man. He had to repeat the question twice before 
she understood him, and then she asked the giil 
without taking her eyes off the old man. 

"Who is he?" responded the girl in the Malay 
tongue, ''why, that's old Georgie — drunken Georgie." 

She had scarcely uttered the words when Letta 
uttered a wild cry, ran to the old man, leaped into 
his -arms, and hugged him violently. 

The man was not only surprised but agitated. 
He loosened tlie child's hold so as to be able to look 
at her face. 

^' Oh, Georgie, Georgie !" she cried almost hysteri- 
cally, " don't you know me — ^don't you know 
Letta?" 

Georgie replied by uttering a great shout of 
mingled astonishment and joy, as he clasped thf3 
child in his arms. Then, setting her down and 
holding her at arm's length, he cried in remarkably 
broken English — 

" Know you ! Wat ? Yous hold nuss — hold 
Georgie — not know Miss Letty. Ho! Miss Letty! 
my hold 'art 's a-busted a'most ! But you's come 
back. T'ank de Lor' ! Look 'ere, Miss Letty. (He 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



269 



started up, put the child down, and, with sudden 
energy seized the bottle of rum by the neck.) Look 
'ere, yous oftin say to me afore you goed away, 
' Geo'gie, do, do give up d'inkin','— you 'members ? " 

"E"o, I don't remember," said Letta, smiling 
through her tears. 

" Ho ! yes, but you said it— bery oftin, an' me 
was used to say, ' Yes Miss Letty'— de hold hipper- 
crit !— but I didn't gib 'im up. I d'ink away wuss 
dan ebber. But now — but now — but now (he 
danced round, each time whirling the bottle above 
his head), me d'ink no more— nebber— nebber— 
nehher more !" 

With a mighty swing the old man sent the rum- 
bottle, like a rocket, up among the branches of an 
ebony-tree, where it was shattered to atoms, and 
threw an eaves -dropping monkey almost into fits by 
raining rum and broken glass upon its inquisitive 
head. 

When the excitement of the meeting had some- 
what subsided, Letta suddenly said, " But where is 
mamma ? Oh ! take me to mamma, Georgie." 

The old man's joy instantly vanished, and Letta 
stood pale and trembling before him, pressing her 
little hands to her breast, and not daring, appar- 
ently, to ask another question. 

"Not dead?" she said at length in a low 
whisper. 



270 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" ISTo — no — Miss Letty," replied the man hastily, 
" Ho ! no, not dead, but goed away ; nigh broked 
her heart when she losted you ; git berry sick ; 
fought she was go for die, but she no die. She 
jis turn de corner and come round, an' when she 
git bedder she goed away." 

"AVhere did she go to?" asked Eobin, anxiously, 

"To Bumby," said old George. 

"To where?" 

" Bumby." 

"I suppose you mean Bombay?" said Sam. 

" Yes, yes — an' me say Bumby." 

" Is she alive and well ? " asked Eobin. 

"Don' know," replied old George, shaking his 
head; "she no write to hold Geo'gie. Mgh two 
hears since she goed away." 

When the excitement of this meetinsj began to 
subside, Sam Shipton took the old Malay aside, 
and, after prolonged conversation, learned from 
him the story, of which the following is the 
substance. 

Mrs. Langley was the widow of a gentleman who 
had died in the service of Eajah Brooke. Several 
years before — he could not say exactly how many 
— the widow had retired with her only child, Letta, 
to a little bungalow on a somewhat out-of-the-way 
part of the coast which Mr. Langley used to be fond 
of going to, and called his " shooting-box." This had 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



271 



been attacked one night by Labuan pirates, who, 
after taking all that was valuable, set fire to the 
house. Mrs. Langiey had escaped by a back door 
into the woods with her old man-servant, George. 
She had rushed at the first alarm to Letta's bed, but 
the child was not there. Letta had been awake, 
had heard the advance of the pirate crew, and had 
gone into a front room to see who was coming. 
Supposing that old George must have taken charge 
of the child, and hearing him calling to her to 
come aw^ay quickly, the widow ran out at the back 
door as the pirates entered by the front. Too late 
she found that George had not the child, and she 
would have returned to the house, regardless of 
consequences, if George had not forcibly restrained 
her. When George returned at daybreak, he found 
the house a smouldering ruin, the pirates gone, and 
Letta nowhere to be found. 

The shock threw Mrs. Langiey into a violent 
fever. She even lost her reason for a time, and 
when at last she was restored to some degree of 
health, she went away to Bombay wdthout saying 
to any one what were her intentions. She could 
never entirely forgive old George for having pre- 
vented her returning to the house to share the fate 
of her child, and left Sarawak without bidding him 
farewell, though, as old George himself pathetically 
remarked, "Me couldn't 'elp it, you knows. De 



272 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

scoundrils kill missis if she goed back, an' dat doos 
no good to Miss Letty." 

This was all the information that could be 
obtained about Mrs. Langley, and on the strength 
of it Sam and Eobin resolved to proceed to Bombay 
by the first opportunity. But their patience was 
severely tried, for many months elapsed ere they 
obtained berths in a vessel bound direct to Bombay. 

Of course Jim Slagg determined to go with them, 
and so did Stumps, though a slight feeling of cold- 
ness had begun to manifest itself in that worthy's 
manner ever since the episode of the division of 
jewels. John Johnson, however, made up his mind 
to take service with the Eajah, and help to exter- 
minate the nests of pirates with which those seas 
were infested. 

" Depend upon it, sir," said Johnson to Eobin at 
parting, "that you'll turn out somethin' or other 
afore long. As I said to our stooard on the night 
that you was born, ' Stooard,' says I, ' take my word 
for it, that there babby what has just been launched 
ain't agoin' under hatches without makin' his mark 
somehow an' somewheres,' an' you've begun to 
make it, sir, a'ready, an' you '11 go on to make it, as 
sure as my name's John Johnson." 

" I 'm gratified by your good opinion," replied 
Eobin, with a laugh. " All I can say is, that what- 
ever mark I make, I hope may be a good one." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 273 

Poor Eobin had little ambition at that time to 
make any kind of mark for himself on the world. 
His one desire — which had grown into a sort of 
passion — was to find Letta's mother, i^'early all 
his thoughts were concentrated on that point, and 
so great was his personal influence on his comrades, 
that Sam and Slagg had become almost as enthusi- 
astic about it as himself, though Stumps remained 
comparatively indifferent. 



274: 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

BOMBAY— WHEBE STUMPS COMES TO GRIEF 

Once again we must beg the patient reader to 
skip with us over time and space, until we find 
ourselves in the great city of Bombay, 

It is a great day for Bombay. JTatives and 
Europeans alike are unusually excited. Something 
of an unwonted nature is evidently astir. Down 
at the sea the cause of the excitement is explained, 
for the Great Eastern steamship has just arrived, 
laden with the telegraph cable which is to connect 
England with her possessions in the East. The 
streets and quays are crowded with the men of 
many nations and various creeds, to say nothing of 
varied costume. Turbans and chimney-pots salaam 
to each other, and fezes nod to straw hats and 
wide-awakes. Every one is more than usually 
sympathetic, for all have their minds, eyes, and 
liopes, more or less, centred on the " big ship," with 
her unique and precious cargo. ' 

But it is with neither the Great Eastern nor the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 275 

people — not even with the cable— that we have to 
do just now. Eemoving our eyes from such, we 
fix them and our attention on a very small steamer 
which lies alongside one of the wharves, and shows 
evidence of having been severely handled by winds 
and waves. 

At the time we direct attention to her, a few 
passengers were landing from this vessel, and 
among them were our friends, Sam Shipton, Eobin 
Wright, Jim Slagg, John Shanks, alias Stumps, 
and Letta Langley. Most of the passengers had 
luggage of some sort, but our friends possessed only 
a small bag each, slung over their shoulders. A 
letter from the authorities of Sarawak certified tliat 
they were honest men. 

" Now, Eobin," said Sam, as they pushed through 
the crowds, "there seems to me something auspicious 
in our arriving about the same time with the Great 
Eastern, and I hope something may come of it, but 
our first business is to make inquiries for Mrs. 
Langley. We will therefore go and find the hotel 
to which we have been recommended, and make 
that our headquarters while we are engaged in our 
search." 

"Can I lend you a hand, Mr. Sliipton?" asked 
Slagg, who had become, as it were, irresistibly more 
respectful to Eobin and Sam since coming among 
civilised people. 



27G THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

r 

" ^^0, Slagg ; our mission is too delicate to admit 
of numbers. If we require your services we '11 let 
you know." 

" Ah ! I see — too many cooks apt to spoil the 
broth. Well, my mission will be to loaf about and 
see Bombay. You and I will pull together, Stumps." 

" j^o," said Stumps, to the surprise of his com- 
panions, " I 've got a private mission of my own — 
at least for this evening." 

" Well, please yourself, Stumpy," said Slagg with 
a good-humoured laugh, "you never was the best 
o' company, so I won't break my heart." 

At the hotel to which they had been recom- 
mended two rooms were engaged, — a small single 
room for Letta, and one with two beds and a sofa 
for themselves. 

Having breakfasted and commended Letta to the 
landlady's care, Sam and Eobin sallied forth to- 
gether, while Slagg and Stumps went their separate 
ways, having appointed to meet again in the 
evening for supper. 

We will follow the fortunes of Mr. John Shanks. 
That rather vacant and somewhat degenerate youth, 
having his precious bag slung from his shoulders, 
and his left arm round it for further security, 
sauntered forth and began to view the town. His 
viewing it consisted chiefly in looking long and 
steadily at the shop windows of the principal 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 277 



streets. There was a slight touch of cunning, how- 
ever, in his expression, for he had rid himself, 
cleverly as he imagined, of his comrades, and 
meant to dispose of some of the contents of his 
bag to the best advantage, without letting them 
know the result. 

In the prosecution of his deep-laid plans, Stumps 
attracted the attention of a gentleman with exceed- 
ingly black eyes and hair, a hook nose, and rather 
seedy garments. This gentleman followed Stumps 
with great care for a considerable time, watched 
him attentively, seemed to make up his mind about 
him, and finally ran violently against him. 

" Oh ! I do beg your pardon, sir. I am so sorry," 
he said in a slightly foreign accent, with an expres- 
sion of earnest distress on his not over-clean coun- 
tenance, " so very, very, sorry ; it was a piece of 
orange peel. I almost fell ; but for your kind as- 
sistance I should have been down and, perhaps, 
broke my legs. Thank you, sir ; I do hope I have 
not hurt you against the wall. Allow me to dust 
your sleeve." 

" Oh ! you've done me no damage, old gen'l'man," 
said Stumps, rather flattered by the man's attention 
and urbanity. " I 'm all right ; I ain't so easy hurt. 
You needn't take on so." 

" But I cannot help take on so," returned the 
seedy man, with an irresistibly bland smile, " it is 



v. 



278 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



SO good of you to make light of it, yet I might 
almost say you saved my life, for a fall to an elderly 
man is always very dangerous. Will you not allow 
me to give my benefactor a drink ? See, here is a 
shop." 

Stumps chanced to be very hot and thirsty at 
the time ; indeed he had been meditating some such 
indulgence, and fell into the trap at once. Accept- 
ing the offer with a " well, I don't mind if I do," 
he entered the drinking saloon and sat down, while 
his new friend called for brandy and water. 

" You have come from a long voyage, I see," said 
the seedy man, pulling out a small case and offering 
Stumps a cigar. 

" How d'ee know that ? " asked Stumps bluntly. 

"Because I see it in your bronzed face, and, 
excuse me, somewhat threadbare garments." 

" Oh 1 as to that, old man, I 've Rot tin enoufj-h 
to buy a noo rig out, but I 'm in no hurry." 

He glanced unintentionally at his bag as he 
spoke, and the seedy man glanced at it too — inten- 
tionally. Of course Stumps's glance let the cat out 
of the bag ! 

" Come," said the stranger, when the brandy was 
put before them, " drink — drink to — to the girls 
we left behind us !" 

" I left no girl behind me" said Stumps, 

" Well then," cried the seedy man, with irresis- 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 279 



tible good humour, " let us drink success to absent 
friends and confusion to our foes." 

This seemed to meet the youth's views, for, with- 
out a word of comment, he drained his glass nearly 
to the bottom 

"Ha! that's good. l;fothiii' like brandy and 
water on a hot day." 

"Except brandy and water on a cold day, my 
dear;* returned the Jew — for such he was; "there 
is not much to choose between them. Had you not 
better take off your bag ? it incommodes you in so 
narrow a seat. Let me help — No ?" 

" You let alone my bag," growled Stumps angrily, 
with a sudden clutch at it. 

" Waiter ! bring a light. My cigar is out," said 
the Jew, affecting not to observe Stumps's tone or 
manner. " It is strange," he w^ent on, " how, some- 
times, you find a bad cigar — a mry bad cigar — in 
the midst of good ones. Yours is going well, I 
think." 

" Well enough," answered Stumps, taking another 
pull at the brandy and water. 

The seedy man now launched out into a pleasant 
light discourse about Bombay and its ways, which 
highly interested his poor victim. He made no 
further allusion to the bag, Stumps's behaviour 
having betrayed all he required to know, namely, 
that its contents were valuable. 



280 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



Soon the brandy began to take effect on Stumps, 
and, as he was unaccustomed to such potent drink 
besides being unused to self-restraint, he would 
speedily have made himself a fit subject for the 
care of the police, which would not have suited his 
new friend at all. When, therefore, Stumps put 
out his hand to grasp his tumbler for another 
draught, his anxious friend inadvertently knocked 
it over, and then begged his pardon profusely. 
Before Stumps could decide whether to call for 
another glass at the risk of having to pay for it 
himself, the Jew pointed to a tall, sallow-faced man 
who sat in a corner smoking and reading a news- 
paper. 

" Do you see him ?" he asked, in a low mysterious 
whisper. 

"Yes ; who is he ? what about him ?" asked the 
youth in a similar whisper. 
" He 's an opium-smoker." 

"Is he?" said Stumps with a vacant stare. 
"What's that?" 

Upon this text the seedy man delivered a dis- 
course on the pleasures of opium -smoking, whicli 
quite roused the interest and curiosity of his 
hearer. 

'■'But is it so very nice to smoke opium?" he 
asked, after listening for some time. 

" Mce, my dear ? I should think it is — very nice 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 281 



but very wrong— oli ■ very wrong. Perhaps we 
ought not even to speak about it." 

"Nonsense !" said the now half- tipsy lad with an 
air of determination. " I should like to try it. Come, 
you know where T could have a pipe. Let's go." 

"ISTot for worlds," said the man with a look of 
remonstrance. 

" Oh, yes you will," returned Stumps, rising. 

" Well, you are a wilful man, and if you will I 
suppose you must," said the Jew. 

He rose with apparent reluctance, paid the 
reckoning, and led his miserable victim into one of 
the numerous dens of iniquity which exist in the 
lowest parts of that city. There he furnished the 
lad with a pipe of opium, and, while he was in the 
state of semi-stupor resulting therefrom, removed 
his bag of treasure, which he found, to his delight, 
contained a far richer prize than he had antici- 
pated, despite the quantity of trash with which it 
was partly filled. 

Having secured this, he waited until Stumps had 
partially recovered, and then led him into one of 
the most crowded thoroughfares. 

" 'Now, my boy," he said affectionately, " I think 
you are much better. You can walk alone." 

" I should think I could," he replied, indignantly 
shaking off the man's grasp. "Wh— what d'ee 
take me for V 



282 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



He drew his hand across his eyes, as if to clear 
away the cloud that still oppressed him, and stared 
sternly before him, then he stared, less sternly, on 
either side, then he wheeled round and stared 
anxiously behind him. Then clapping his left 
hand quickly to his side, he became conscious that 
his bag was gone, and that his late friend had taken 
an abrupt departure without bidding him farewell. 



I 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



283 



CHAPTEE XXIII. 

STUMPS IN DESPAIR — AND BOMBAY IN RAPTURES. 

When Mr. Jolin Shanks realised tlie full extent 
of liis loss, liis first impulse was to seize hold of the 
nearest passer-by and strangle him ; his next^ to 
dash down a narrow street close beside him in pur- 
suit of some one; his next, to howl " stop thief!" 
and "murder!" and his next, to stare into a shop 
window in blank dismay, and meditate. 

Of these various impulses, he gave way only to 
the last. His meditations, however, were confused 
and unsatisfactory. Turning from them abruptly, 
he hurried along the street at a furious walk, mut- 
tering, "I'll go an' tell Slagg." Then, pausing 
abruptly, "No, I won't, I '11 go an' inform the pleece." 

Under this new impulse he hurried forward again, 
jostling people as he went, and receiving a good 
deal of rough-handling in return. Presently he 
came to a dead halt, and with knitted brows and 
set teeth, hissed, " I '11 go and drown myself." 

Full of this intention he broke into a run, hut 



284 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



not being acquainted witli the place, found it 
necessary to ask his way to the port. This some- 
what sobered him, but did not quite change his 
mind, so that when he eventually reached the 
neighbourhood of the shipping, he was still going 
at a quick excited walk. He was stopped by a 
big and obviously eccentric sea-captain, or mate, 
who asked him if he happened to know of any 
active stout young fellow who wanted to ship in a 
tight little craft about to sail for old England. 

" JSTo I don't," said Stumps, angrily. 

" Come now, think' again," said the skipper, in 
no degree abashed, and putting on a nautical grin, 
which was meant for a winning smile. " I 'm rather 
short-handed ; give good wages ; have an amiable 
temper, a good craft, and a splendid cook. You 're 
just the active spirited fellow that I want. You'll 
ship now, eh ?" 

" JSTo I won't," said Stumps, sulkily, endeavouring 
to push past. 

" Well well, no offence. Keep an easy mind, and 
if you should chance to change it, just come and 
see me. Captain Bounce, of the Swordfish. Tliere 
she lies, in all her beauty, quite a picture. Good 
day." 

The eccentric skipper passed on, but Stumps did 
not move. He stood there with his eyes riveted 
on the pavement, and his lips tightly compressed. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



285 



Evidently tlie drowning plan had been abandoned 
for something else — something that caused him to 
frown, then to smile, then to grow slightly pale, 
and then to laugh somewhat theatrically. While 
in this mood he was suddenly pushed to one side 
by some one who said — 

The track 's made for walkin' on, not standin', 
young — Hallo !" 

It was Slagg who had thus roughly encountered 
his mate. 

" Why, Stumps, what 's the matter with you ?" 
" N'othing." 

"Where 'ave you bin to?" 
" Nowhere." 

" Who 's bin afrightenin' of you ?" 
" JsTobody." 

" Nothin', nowhere, an' nobody," repeated his 
friend ; that 's what I calls a coorious combination 
for a man who 's as white as a sheet one moment, 
and as red as a turkey-cock the next." 

" Well, Slagg," said Stumps, recovering himself a 
little, " the fact is, I've been taken in and robbed." 

Hereupon he related all the circumstances of 
his late adventure to his astonished and disgusted 
comrade, who asserted roundly that he was a big 
booby, quite unfit to take care of himself. 

" Hows'ever, we must do the best we can for vou " 
he continued, " so come along to the police-office." 



286 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



Information of the robbery was given, and in- 
quiries instituted without delay, but without avail. 
Indeed the chief officer held out little hope of ulti- 
mate success ; nevertheless, Slagg endeavoured to 
buoy up his friend with assurances that they must 
surely get hold of the thief in the long-run. 

" And if we don't," he said to Kobin and Sam, 
during a private conversation on the subject that 
same night, " we must just give him each a portion 
of what we have, for the poor stoopid has shared 
our trials, and ought to share our luck." 

While Stumps was being thus fleeced in the 
lower part of the city, Eobin and Sam had gone to 
make inquiries about Mrs. Langley, and at the 
Government House they discovered a clerk who 
had formerly been at Sarawak, and had heard of 
the fire, the abduction of the little girl, and of Mrs. 
Langley having afterwards gone to Bombay ; but he 
also told them, to their great regret, that she had 
left for Enc^land six months before their arrival, and 
he did not know her address, or even the part of 
England to which she had gone. 

"But," continued the clerk, who was a very 
friendly fellow, "111 make inquiries, and let you 
know the result, if you leave me your address. 
Meanwhile you can amuse yourself by paying a 
visit to that wonderful ship, the Great Eastern, 
which has come to lay a submarine telegraph cable 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



287 



"between this and Aden. Of course you have heard 
of her arrival — perhaps seen her." 

" 0 yes," replied Eobin, " We intend to visit 
her at once. She is an old acquaintance of mine, 
as I was in her when she laid the Atlantic cable in 
1865. Does Captain Anderson still command her?" 

"ITo," answered the clerk, who seemed much 
interested in what Eobin said. " She is now com- 
manded by Captain Halpin." 

That evening Eobin tried to console poor Letta 
in her disappointment at not finding her mother, 
and Sam sought to comfort Stumps for the loss of 
his treasure, i^either comforter was very suc- 
cessful. Letta wept in spite of Eobin, and Stumps 
absolutely refused to be comforted ! 

Next day, however, the tears were dried, and 
Letta became cheery again in the prospect of a visit 
to the Great Eastern. 

But Stumps was no better. Indeed he seemed 
worse, and flatly refused to accompany them on 
their trip, although all the world of Bombay was 
expected to go. 

" Stumps, Stumps, 
Down in tlie dumps ! 

Down in the dumps so low — 0 ! " 

Sang Jim Slagg as he waved his hand in farewell 
on quitting the hotel. " Good-bye, my boy, and get 
your spirits up before we return, if jou can." 



288 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

I '11 try," replied Stumps with a grim smile. 

The event which stirred the city of Bombay to 
its centre at this time was indeed a memorable one. 
The connecting of India with England direct by a 
deep-sea cable was a matter of the greatest import- 
ance, because the land telegraph which existed at 
the time was wretchedly worked, passing, as it did, 
through several countries, which involved translation 
and re- translation, besides subjecting messages to 
needless delay on the part of unbusiness-like peoples. 
In addition to the brighter prospects which the 
proposed cable was opening up, the presence of the 
largest ship that had ever yet been constructed was a 
point of overwhelming attraction, and so great were 
the crowds that went on board to see the marine 
wonder, that it was found somewhat difficult to 
carry on the necessary work of coaling and making 
preparations for the voyage. 

" Eobin," said Sam, as they walked along with 
Letta between them, " I 've just discovered that the 
agent of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance 
Company is an old friend of mine. He has been 
busy erecting a cable landing-house on the shores 
of Back Bay, so we '11 go there first and get him 
to accompany us to the big ship." 

" Good," said Eobin, " if it is not too far for Letta 
to walk." 

The landing-house, which they soon reached, 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. ^89 

stood near to the " green " where the Bombay and 
Baroda Eailway tumbled out its stream of cotton 
until the region became a very sea of bales. It 
was a little edifice with a thatched roof and Venetian 
blinds, commanding a fine view of the whole of 
Back Bay, with Malabar Point to the right and 
the governor's house imbedded in trees. Long 
lines of surf marked the position of ugly rocks 
which were visible at low water, but among these 
there was a pathway of soft sand marked off by 
stakes, along which the shore- end of the cable was 
to lie. 

For the reception of the extreme end of the cable 
there was provided, in the cable-house, a testing 
table of solid masonry, with a wooden top on which 
the testing instruments were to stand ; the great 
delicacy of these instruments rendering a fixed table 
indispensable. 

When our friends reached the cable-house, native 
labourers, in picturesque Oriental costume, were 
busy thatching its roof or painting it blue, while 
some were screwing its parts together ; for the 
house, with a view to future telegraphic require- 
ments, was built so as to come to pieces for ship- 
ment to still more distant quarters of the globe. 

Sam's friend could not go with him, he said, but 
he would introduce him to a young acquaintance 
among the working engineers who was going off 

T 



290 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



with a party in half an hour or so. Accordingly, 
in a short time they were gliding over the hay, and 
ere long stood on the deck of the hig ship. 

" Oh, Letta ! " said Eohin, with a glitter of enthu- 
siasm in his eyes, as he gazed round on the well- 
rememhered deck, "it feels like meeting an old 
friend after a long separation." 

" How nice !" said Letta. 

This " how nice " of the child was, so to speak, a 
point of great attraction to our hero. She always 
accompanied it with a smile so full of sympathy, 
interest, and urbanity, that it became doubly 
significant on her lips. Letta was precocious. 
She had grown so rapidly in sympathetic capacity 
and intelligence, since becoming acquainted with 
her new friends, that Eobin had gradually come to 
speak to her about his thoughts and feelings very 
much as he used to speak to cousin Madge when 
he was a boy. 

"Yes," he continued, ''T had forgotten how big 
she was, and she seems to me actually to have 
grown bigger. There never was a ship like her in 
the world. Such huge proportions, such a vast 
sweep of graceful lines. The chief difference that 
I observe is the coat of white paint they have given 
her. She seems to have been whitewashed from 
stem to stern. It was for the heat, I fancy." 

"Yes, sir, it wor," said a bluff cable-man who 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 291 

clianced to overhear the remark, " an' if you wor 
in the tanks, you 'd 'ave Iblessed Capt'n Halpin for 
wot he done. Wy, sir, that coat o' whitewash 
made a difference o' no less than eight degrees in 
the cable-tanks the moment it was putt on. Before 
that we was nigh stooed alive. Arter that we 've 
on'y bin baked." 

" Indeed ? " said Eobin, but before he could say 
more the bluff cable-man had returned to his bakery. 

"Just look here," he continued, turning again to 
Letta ; " the great ships around us seem like little 
ones, by contrast, and the little ones like boats, 
—don't they?" 

" Yes, and the boats like toys," said Letta, " and 
the people in them like dolls." 

" True, little one, and yonder comes a toy steam.er," 
said Sam, who had been contemplating the paying- 
out gear in silent admiration, " with some rather 
curious dolls on it." 

" Oh !" exclaimed Letta, with great surprise, 
" look, Eobin, look at the horses— just as if we were 
on shore ! " 

Among the many surprising things on board of 
the big ship, few were more striking for incongruity 
than the pair of grey carriage-horses, to which Letta 
referred, taking their morning exercise composedly 
up and down one side of the deck, with a groom 
at their heads. 



292 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



The steamer referred to by Sam was one which 
contained a large party of Hindu and Parsee ladies 
and children who had come off to see the ship. 
These streamed into her in a bright procession, and 
were soon scattered about, making the decks and 
saloons like Eastern Hower-beds with their many- 
coloured costumes — of red, pink, white, and yellow 
silks and embroideries, and bracelets, brooches, 
nose-rings, anklets, and other gold and silver orna- 
ments. 

The interest taken by the natives in the Great 
Eastern was naturally great, and was unexpectedly 
illustrated in the following manner. Captain 
Halpin, anticipating difficulties in the matter of 
coaling and otherwise carrying on the work of the 
expedition, had resolved to specify particular days 
for sight-seers, and to admit them by ticket^ on 
which a small fee was charged — the sum thus raised 
to be distributed among the crew at the end of the 
voyage. In order to meet the convenience of the 
" upper ten " of English at Bombay, the charge at 
first was two rupees (about 4s.), and it was adver- 
tised that the ship would afterwards be thrown 
open at lower rates, but to the surprise of all, from 
an early hour on the two-rupee day the ship was 
beset by Parsees, Hindus, and Mohammedans, so 
that eventually, on all sides — on the decks, the 
bridge, the paddle-boxes, down in the saloons, out- 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 293 

side the cable-tanks, mixed up with the machinery, 
clustering round the huge red buoys, and at the 
door of the testing- room — the snowy robes, and 
strange head-dresses, bright costumes, brighter eyes, 
brown faces, and turbans far outnumbered the stiff 
and sombre Europeans. These people evidently 
regarded the Great Eastern as one of the wonders 
of the world. "The largest vessel ever seen in 
Bombay," said an enthusiastic Parsee, " used to be 
the Bates Family, of Liverpool, and now there she 
lies alongside of us looking like a mere jolly- 
boat." 

While Sam and his friends were thus standino 
absorbed by the contemplation of the curious sights 
and sounds around them, one of the engineer staff, 
who had served on board during the laying of the 
1866 Atlantic cable, chanced to pass, and, recognis- 
ing Eobin as an old friend, grasped and shook his 
hand warmly. Eobin was not slow to return the 
greeting. 

" Erank Hedley," he exclaimed, " why, I thought 
you had gone to California !" 

" Eobin Wright," replied the young engineer, " I 
thought you were dead ! " 

" Not yet," returned Eobin ; " I 'm thankful to 
report myself alive and well." 

"But you ought to be dead," persisted Frank, 
" for you 've been mourned as such for nigh a 



294 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



couple of years. At least the vessel in wliicli you 
sailed has never been heard of, and the last time I 
saw your family, not four months since, they had 
all gone into mourning for you," 

"Poor mother !" murmured Eobin, his eyes filling 
with tears, " but, please God, we shall meet again 
before long." 

" Come — come down with me to the engine-room 
and have a talk about it," said Frank, "and let 
your friends come too." 

Just as he spoke, one of the little brown-faced 
Mohammedan boys fixed his glittering eyes on an 
opening in the bulwarks of the ship, through which 
the water could be seen glancing brightly. That 
innate spirit of curiosity peculiar to small boys all 
the world over, induced him to creep partly through 
the opening and glance down at the sparkling fluid. 
That imperfect notion of balance, not infrequent in 
small boys, caused him to tip over and cleave the 
water with his head. His Mohammedan relatives 
greeted the incident with shrieks of alarm. Eobin, 
who had seen him tip over, being a good swimmer, 
and prompt to act, went through the same hole like 
a fish-torpedo, and caught the brown boy by the 
hair, as he rose to the surface with staring eyes, out- 
spread fingers, and a bursting cry. 

Eope-ends, life-buoys, and other things were 
flung over the side ; oars were plunged ; boats 



I 

THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 295 

darted forward ; fifty efforts at rescue were made 
in as many seconds, for there was wealth of aid at 
hand, and in a wonderfully brief space of time the 
hrown boy was restored to his grateful friends, 
while Eobin, enveloped in a suit of dry clothes 
much too large for him, was seated with his friend 
the engineer down among the great cranks, and 
wheels, and levers, of the regions below. 

" It 's well the sharks weren't on the outlook," 
said Frank Hedley, as he brought forward a small 
bench for Letta, Sam, and Jim Slagg. " You won't 
mind the oily smell, my dear," he said to Letta. 

" 0 no. I rather like it," replied the accom- 
modating child. 

"It's said to be fattening," remarked Slagg, "even 
when taken through the nose." 

"Come now, let me hear all about my dear 
mother and the rest of them, Frank," said Eobin. 

Frank began at once, and, for a considerable 
time, conversed about the sayings and doings of 
the Wright family, and of the world at large, and 
about the loss of the cable- ship ; but gradually and 
slowly, yet surely, the minds and converse of the 
little party came round to the all-absorbing topic, 
like the needle to the pole ! 

" So, you 're actually going to begin to coal 
to-morrow ?" said Sam. 

" Yes, and we hope to be ready in a few days to 



296 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



lay the shore-end of the cable/' answered the young 
engineer. 

" But have they not got land lines of telegraph 
which work well enough ? " asked Eobin. 

"Land lines !" exclaimed Frank, with a look of 
contempt. "Yes, they have, and no doubt the 
lines are all right enough, but the people through 
whose countries they pass are all wrong. Why, 
the Government lines are so frequently out of order 
just now, that their daily condition is reported on 
as if they were noble invalids. Just listen to this 
(he caught up a very much soiled and oiled news- 
paper) — 'Telegraph Line Eeports, Kurrachee, 2d 
Feby., 6 p.m. — Cable communication perfect to Fao ; 
Turkish line is interrupted beyond Semawali ; 
Persian line interrupted beyond Shiraz.' And it 
is constantly like that — the telegraphic disease, 
though intermittent, is chronic. One can never 
be sure when the line may be unfit for duty. Some- 
limes from storms, sometimes from the assassina- 
tion of the operators in wild districts through which 
the land wires pass, and sometimes from the de- 
struction of lines out of pure mischief, the telegraph 
is often beaten by the mail." 

" There seems, indeed, much need for a cable 
direct," said Sam, "which will make us independent 
of Turks, Persians, Arabs, and all the rest of them. 
By the way, how long is your cable ? " 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



297 



"The cable now in our tanks is 2375 nautical 
miles long, but our companion ships, the Hibernia, 
Chiltern, and Hawk, carry among them 1225 miles 
more, making a total of 3600 nautical miles, which 
is equal, as you know, to 4050 statute miles. This 
is to suffice for the communication between Bombay 
and Aden, and for the connecting of the Malta and 
Alexandria lines. They are now laying a cable 
between England, Gibraltar, and Malta, so that 
when all is completed there will be one line of 
direct submarine telegraph unbroken, except at 
Suez. 

" Magnificent !" exclaimed Eobin, " why, it won't 
be long before we shall be able to send a message 
to India and get a reply in the same day." 

" In the same day !" cried Sam, slapping his 
thigh ; " mark my words, as uncle Eik used to say, 
you '11 be able to do that, my boy, within the same 
hour before long." 

" Come, Sam, don't indulge in prophecy. It does 
not become you," said Eobin. " By the way, Frank, 
what about uncle Eik ? You have scarcely men- 
tioned him." 

" Oh ! he 's the same hearty old self-opinionated 
fellow as ever. Poor fellow, he was terribly cut up 
about your supposed death. I really believe that 
he finds it hard even to smile now, much less to 
laugh. As for Madge, she won't believe that you 



298 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILEE. 



are lost — at least slie won't admit it, though it is 
easy to see that anxiety has told upon her." 

I wonder how my poor old mother has took it," 
said Slagg, pathetically. " But she 's tough, an' 
can't be got to believe things easy. She '11 hold 
out till I turn up, I dessay, and when I present 
myself she '11 say, ' I know'd it !' " 

" But to return to the cable," said Sam, with an 
apologetic smile. " Is there any great difference 
between it and the old ones ?" 

" Not very much. We have found, however, 
that a little marine wretch called the teredo at- 
tacks hemp so greedily that we've had to invent 
a new compound wherewith to coat it, namely, 
ground flint or silica, pitch, and tar, which gives 
the teredo the toothache, I suppose, for it turns 
him off effectually. We have also got an inter- 
mediate piece of cable to affix between the heaVy 
shore-end and the light deep-sea portion. There 
are, of course, several improvements in the details 
of construction, but essentially it is the same as the 
cables you have already seen, with its seven copper 
wires covered with gutta-percha, and other insu- 
lating and protecting substances." 

" It 's what I calls a tremendious undertakin'," 
said Slagg. 

" It is indeed," assented Frank, heartily, for like 
all the rest of the crew, from the captain down- 



THE BATIEllY AND THE BOILER. 



299 



wards, he was quite enthusiastic about the ship and 
her work. " Why, when you come to think of it, 
it's unbelievable. I sometimes half expect to 
waken up and find it is all a dream. Just fancy. 
We left England with a freight of 21,000 tons. 
The day is not long past when I thought a ship 
of 1000 tons a big one ; what a mite that is to our 
Leviathan, as she used to be called. We had 5512 
tons of cable, 3824 tons of fuel, 6499 tons of coal 
and electric apparatus and appliances when we 
started ; the whole concern, ship included, being 
valued at somewhere about two millions sterling. 
It may increase your idea of the size and needs 
of our little household when I tell you that the 
average quantity of coal burned on the voyage out 
has been 200 tons a day." 

" It 's a positive romance in facts and figures," 
said Sam. 

" A great reality, you should have said," remarked 
Eobin. 

And so, romancing on this reality of facts and 
figures in many a matter-of-fact statement and 
figurative rejoinder, they sat there among the great 
cranks, and valves, and pistons, and levers, until 
the declining day warned them that it was time to 
go ashore. 



300 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEIL 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

SHOWS THE DREADFUL DEPRAVITY OP MAN, AND THE AMAZING 
EPEECTS OP ELECTRICAL TREATMENT ON MAN AND BEAST. 

Meanwhile Stumps went back to the hotel to 
brood over his misfortunes, and hatch out the plan 
which his rather unfertile brain had devised. 

Seated on a chair, with his elbows on his knees, 
his chin in his hands, and his nails between his 
teeth, he stared at a corner of the room, nibbled 
and meditated. There was nothing peculiar about 
the corner of the room at which he stared, save that 
there stood in it a portmanteau which Sam had 
bought the day before, and in which were locked 
his and Eobin's bags of treasure. 

" If I could only manage to get away by rail to — 
to — anywhere, I 'd do it," he muttered. 

Almost simultaneously he leaped from his chair, 
reddened, and went to look out at the window, for 
some one had tapped at the door. 

" Come in," he said with some hesitation. 

" GenTman wants you, sir," said a waiter, ushering 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 301 



in the identical captain wlio had stopped Stumps 
on the street that day. 

" Excuse me, young man/' he said, taking a chair 
without invitation, I saw you enter this hotel, and 
followed vou." 

t/ 

" Well, and what business had you to follow me?" 
demanded Stumps, feeling uneasy. 

" Oh, none — none at all, on'y I find I must sail 
this afternoon, an' I 've took a fancy to you, an' 
hope you 've made up your mind to ship with me." 

Stumps hesitated a moment. 

" Well, yes, I have," he said, with sudden resolu- 
tion. " When must I be on board ?" 

" At four, sharp," said the captain, rising. " I like 
promptitude. All right. Don't fail me." 

" I won't," said Stumps, with emphasis. 

When the captain was gone. Stumps went ner- 
vously to the door and peeped out. i^othing was 
visible, save the tail of a waiter's retiring coat. 
Cautiously shutting and bolting the door, he took 
up a strong walking-cane, and, after some difficulty, 
forced the lock of the portmanteau therewith. Abs- 
tracting from it the two bags containing the trea- 
sures of his mates Eobin and Sam, he wrapped them 
in a handkerchief, and put them into a canvas bag, 
which he had purchased for the reception of his own 
wardrobe. Taking this under his arm he went quietly 
out of the hotel into the street and disappeared. 



302 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



He was closely followed by a waiter who had 
taken the liberty of peeping through the key-hole 
when he committed the robbery, and who never lost 
sight of him till he had seen him embark in a 
vessel in the harbour, named the Fairy Queen, and 
heard him give his name as James Gibson. Then 
he returned to the hotel, giving vent to his senti- 
ments in the following soliloquy — 

"Of course it is no business of yours, John 
Eibbon, whether men choose to open their comrades' 
portmantys with keys or walkin'-sticks, but it is 
well for you to note the facts that came under your 
observation, and to reveal them to them as they 
concern — for a consideration.'' 

But the waiter did not at that time obtain an 
opportunity to reveal his facts to those whom they 
concerned, for Sam, Eobin, Slagg, and Letta did not 
return to the hotel, but sent a pencil note to Stumps 
instead, to the effect that they had received an 
invitation from a telegraph official to pay him a 
visit at his residence up country; that, as he was 
to carry them off in his boat to the other side of the 
bay, they would not have an opportunity of calling 
to bid him, Stumps, a temporary farewell ; that he 
was to make himself as happy as he could in Bom- 
bay during their absence, keep on the rooms at the 
hotel, and settle the bills, and that all expenses 
would be paid by them on their return. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



303 



As tlie youth by whom this message was sent 
knew nothing about the senders or whither they 
had gone, and as Stumps did not again make his 
appearance, the landlord seized the few things that 
had been left by the supposed runaways. 

The invitation that had thus suddenly been given 
and accepted, was received from a gentleman named 
Eedpath, an official in the Indian telegraph service. 
They had been introduced to him on board of the 
Great Eastern by Sam's friend, Frank Hedley, and 
he became so interested in their adventurous career 
that he begged them to visit his bungalow in a rather 
out-of-the-way part of the country, even if only for 
a few days. 

" It won't take us long to get there," he said, 
"for the railway passes within thirty miles of it, 
and I '11 drive you over as pretty a piece of country 
as you could wish to see. I have a boat alongside, 
and must be off at once. Do come." 

"But there are so manyof us/'objected Sam Shipton. 

" Pooh ! I could take a dozen more of you," re- 
turned the hospitable electrician ; " and my wife 
rejoices — absolutely rejoices — when I bring home 
unexpected company." 

" What a pattern she must be," said Slagg ; " but 
excuse me, sir, since you are so good as to invite us 
all, may I make so bold as to ax if you 've got a 
servants'-'all?" 



304 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



Well, I 've not got exactly that," replied Eed- 
path, with an amused look; "but I've got some- 
thing of the same sort for my servants. Why do 
you ask ? " 

" Because, sir, I never did sail under false colours, 
and I ain't agoin' to begin now. I don't set up for 
a gentleman, and though circumstances has throwed 
me along wi' two of 'em, so that we 've bin hail- 
feller-well-met for a time, I ain't agoin' to conde- 
scend to consort wi' them always. If you 've got a 
servants'-'all, I '11 come and thank 'ee ; if not, I '11 
go an' keep company wi' Stumps till Mr. Shipton 
comes back." 

" Very well, my good fellow, then you shall come, 
and we '11 find you a berth in the servants'-hall," 
said Eedpath, laughing. 

" But what about Stumps ?" said Eobin ; " he will 
wonder what has come over us. Could we not 
return to the hotel first ?" 

" Impossible," said the electrician ; " I have not 
time to wait. My leave has expired. Besides, you 
can write him a note." 

So the note was written, as we have shown, and 
the party set out on their inland journey. 

Before starting, however, Frank Hedley, the en- 
gineer, took Sam and Eobin aside. 

"Now, think over what I have mentioned," he 
said^ " and make up your minds. You see, I have 



THE BATTERY AND TEE BOILEE. 



305 



some influence at headquarters, and am quite sure 
I can get you both a berth on board to replace the 
men who have left us. I think I can even manage 
to find a corner for Slagg, if he is not particular." 

" We shall only be too happy to go if you can 
manage it," replied Eobin ; " but Stumps, what 
about him? We can't leave Stumps behind, you 
know." 

" Well, I '11 try to get Stumps smuggled aboard 
as a stoker or something, if possible, but to say 
truth, I don't feel quite so sure about that matter/' 
replied Frank. 

"But shall we have time for this trip if you 
should prove successful?" asked Sam. 

"Plenty of time," returned his friend ; "coaling is a 
slow as well as a dirty process, and to ship thousands 
of tons is not a trifle. I daresay we shall be more 
than a week here before the shore- end is fixed and 
all ready to start." 

" Well then, Frank," said Sam ; " adieu, till we 
meet as shipmates." 

The railway soon conveyed our adventurers a 
considerable distance into the interior of the country. 

At the station where Eedpath and his guests got . 
out, a vehicle was procured sufficiently large to hold 
them all, and the road over which they rapidly 
passed bore out the character which the electrician 
had given to it. Every species of beautiful scenery 

tJ 



306 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



presented itself — from tlie low scrubby plain, with 
clumps of tropical plants here and there, to undu- 
lating uplands and hills. 

"You must have some difficulties in your tele- 
graph operations here/' said Eobin to Eedpatb, 
" with which we have not to contend in Europe." 

" A few," replied his friend, " especially in the 
wilder parts of the East. Would you believe it," 
he added, addressing himself to Letta, " that wild 
animals frequently give us great trouble ? When- 
ever a wild pig, a tiger, or a buffalo, takes it into 
his head to scratch himself, he uses one of our tele- 
graph posts if he finds it handy. Elephants some- 
times butt them down with their thick heads, by 
way of pastime, I suppose, for they are not usually 
fond of posts and wire as food. Then bandicoots 
and porcupines burrow under them and bring them 
to the ground, while kites and crows sit on the 
wires and weigh them down. Monkeys, as usual, 
are most mischievous, for they lay hold of the wires 
with tails and paws, swinging from one to another, 
and thus form living conductors, which tend to 
mix and confuse the messages." 

" But does not the electricity hurt the monkeys V 
asked Letta. 

" 0 no ! It does them no injury ; and birds sitting 
on the wires are never killed by it, as many people 
suppose. The electricity passes them unharmed, 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



307 



and keeps faithfully to the wire. If a monkey, in- 
deed, had a tail long enough to reach from the wire 
to the ground, and were to wet itself thoroughly, it 
might perhaps draw off some of the current, but for- 
tunately the tails of monkeys are limited. We often 
find rows of birds lying dead below our telegraph 
lines, but these have been killed by flying against 
them, the wires being scarcely visible among trees." 

" And what about savages, sir ?" asked Jim Slagg, 
who had become deeply interested in the tele- 
graphist's discourse ; "don't they bother you some- 
times?" 

" Of course they do," replied Eedpath, with a 
laugh, "and do us damage at times, though we 
bother them too, occasionally." 

" How do you manage that, sir ? " asked Jim, 
" Well, you must know we have been much hin- 
dered in our work by the corruptness and stupidity of 
Eastern of&cials in manyplaces,and by the destructive 
propensities and rapacity of Kurds and wandering 
Arabs and semi-savages, who have found our posts 
in the desert good for firewood and our wires for 
arrow-heads or some such implements. Some of 
our pioneers in wild regions have been killed by 
robbers when laying the lines, while others have 
escaped only by fighting for their lives. Super- 
stition, too, has interfered with us sadly, though 
sometimes it has come to our aid." 



308 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 



" There was one eccentric Irisliman — one of tlie 
best servants I ever had," continued Eedpath, 
"who once made a sort of torpedo arrangement 
which achieved wonderful success. The fellow is 
with me still, and it is a treat to hear Flinn, that 's 
his name, tell the story, but the fun of it mostly 
lies in the expressive animation of his own face, 
and the richness of his brogue as he tells it. 

"'I was away in the dissert somewheres,' he is 
wont to say, ' I don't rightly remimber where, for my 
brain 's no better than a sive at geagraphy, but it 
was a wild place, anyhow — bad luck to it ! Well, 
we had sot up a line o' telegraph in it, an' wan o' 
the posts was stuck in the ground not far from a 
pool o' wather where the wild bastes was used to 
dhrink of a night, an' they tuk a mighty likin' to 
this post, which they scrubbed an' scraped at till 
they broke it agin an' agin. Och ! it's me heart 
was broke intirely wi' them. At last I putt me 
brains in steep an' got up an invintion. It wouldn't 
be aisy to explain it, specially to onscientific people. 
'No matter, it was an electrical arrangement, which 
I fixed to the post, an' bein' curious to know how 
it w^ould work, I wint down to the pool an' hid me- 
silf in a hole of a rock, wid a big stone over me an' 
ferns all round about. I tuk me rifle, av coorse, just 
for company, you know, but not to shoot, for I 'm 
not bloodthirsty, by no means. Well, I hadn't bin 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



309 



long down whin a rustle in tlie laves towld me 
that somethin' was comin', an' sure enough down 
trotted a little deer — as purty a thing as you could 
wish to see. It took a dhrink, tremblin' all the time, 
an' there was good cause, for another rustlin' was 
heard. Off wint the deer, just as a panther o' some 
sort jumped out o' the jungle an' followed it. Bad 
luck go wid ye ! says I ; but I 'd scarce said it whin 
a loud crashing in the jungle towld me a buffalo or 
an elephant was comin'. It was an elephant. He 
wint an' took a long pull at the pool. After that 
he goes straight to the post. Ha ! says I, it 's an 
owld friend o' yours, I see. When he putt his 
great side agin' it, for the purpose of scratchin', 
he got a shock from my electrical contrivance that 
caused his tail to stand upon end, and the hairs at 
its point to quiver. Wid a grunt he stood back 
an' gave the post a look o' surprise, as much as to 
say. Did ye do that a-purpose, ye spalpeen ? Then 
he tried it again, an' got another shock that sot 
up his dander, for he twisted his long nose round 
the post, goin' to pull it down, no doubt, but he got 
another shock on the nose that made him squeal 
an' draw back. Then he lowered his great head for 
a charge. It's all over wid ye now, me post, says 
I ; but the baste changed its mind, and wint off 
wid its tail an' trunk in the air, trump etin' as if 
it had gob the toothache. Well, after that nothin' 



310 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



came for some time, and I think I must have gone 
off to slape, for I was awoke by a most tremendious 
roar. Lookin' up I saw a tiger sprawlin' on his 
back beside the post ! Av coorse the shock wasn't 
enough to have knocked the baste over. I suppose 
it had tripped in the surprise. Anyhow it jumped 
up and seized the post with claws an' teeth, whin av 
coorse it got another shock that caused it to jump 
back about six yards, with its tail curled, its hair 
all on end, all its claws out, an' its eyes blazin'. 
You seem to feel it, says I — in to meself, for fear 
lie'd hear me. He didn't try it again, but wint 
away into the bush like a war-rocket. After 
that, five or six little wild pigs came down, an' 
the smallest wan wint straight up to the post an' 
putt his nose to it. He drew back wid a jerk, an' 
gave a scream that seemed to rend all his vitals. 
You don't like it, thinks I ; but, faix, it looked as if 
I was wrong, for he tried it again. Another shock 
he got, burst himself a'most wid a most fearful 
yell, an' bolted. His brothers didn't seem to under- 
stand it quite. They looked after him in surprise. 
Then the biggest wan gave a wriggle of his curly 
tail, an' wint to the post as if to inquire what was 
the matter. When he got it on the nose the effect 
was surprisin'. The curl of his tail came straight 
out, an' it quivered for a minute all over, wid its 
mouth wide open. The screech had stuck in his 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 311 

throat, but it came out at last so fierce that the 
other pigs had to join in self-defence. I stuck 
my fingers in my ears and shut me eyes. When I 
opened them again the pigs were gone. It's my 
opinion they were all dissolved, like the zinc 
plates in a used-up battery ; but I can't prove that. 
Well, while I was cogitatin' on the result of my 
little invintion, what should walk out o' the woods 
but a man ! At first I tuk him for a big monkey, 
for the light wasn't very good, but he had a gun on 
his shoulder, an' some bits o' clothes on, so I knew 
him for a human. Like the rest o' them, he wint 
up to the post an' looked at it, but didn't touch it. 
Then he came to the pool an' tuk a dhrink, an' 
spread out his blanket, an' began to arrange matters 
for spendin' the rest o' the night there. Av coorse 
he pulled out his axe, for he couldn't do widout fire 
to kape the wild bastes off. An' what does he do 
but go straight up to my post an' lift his axe for a 
good cut. Hallo ! says I, pretty loud, for I was 
a'most too late. Whew ! What a jump he gave ! 
— six futt if it was an inch. Whin he came down 
he staggered with his back agin the post. That was 
enough. The jump he tuk before was nothin' to 
what he did after. I all but lost sight of him 
among the branches. When he returned to the 
ground it was flat on his face he fell, an', rowlin' 
over his head, came up on his knees with a roar 



312 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 

that putt the tigers and pigs to shame. Sarves you 
right, says I, steppin' out of my hole. Av coorse 
he thought I was a divil of some sort, for he turned 
as white in the face as a brown man could, an' 
bolted without so much as sayin' farewell. The 
way that nigger laid his legs along the ground was 
a caution. Ostriches are a joke to it. I picked up 
his blanket an' fetched it home as a keepsake, an' 
from that day to this the telegraph posts have been 
held sacred by man an' baste all over that part of 
the country,' " 

" I 'd like to meet wi' the feller that told that 
yarn," said Jim Slagg. 

" So should I," said Letta, laughing. 

"You shall both have your wish, for there 
he stands," said Redpath, as they dashed round 
the corner of a bit of jungle, on the other 
side of which lay as pretty a bungalow as one 
could wish to see. A man-servant who had 
heard the wheels, was ready at the gate to 
receive the reins, while under the verandah 
stood a pretty little woman to receive the 
visitors. Beside her was a black nurse with a 
white baby. 

" Here we are, Flinn," said Eedpath, leaping to 
the ground. " All well, eh ?" 

" Sure we 're niver anything else here, sor," re- 
plied Flinn, with a modest smile. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



313 



" I 've just been relating your electrical experi- 
ences to my friends/' said the master, 

" Ah ! now, it 's drawin' the long bow yon 've 
been/' returned the man ; " I see it in their faces/' 

" I have rather diluted the dose than otherwise/' 
returned Eedpath. " Let me introduce Mr. Slagg. 
He wishes to see Indian life in the ' servants' hall/ 
Let him see it, and treat him well/' 

" Yours to command/' said Minn, with a nod as he 
led the horses away. " This way, Mr. Slug/' 

" Slagg, if you please, Mr. Flinn," said Jim, " The 
difference between a a an' a u ain't much, but the 
results is powerful sometimes." 

While Slagg was led away to the region of the 
bungalow appropriated to the domestics, his friends 
were introduced to pretty little Mrs. Eedpath, and 
immediately found themselves thoroughly at home 
under the powerful influence of Indian hospitality. 

Although, being in the immediate neighbourhood 
of a veritable Indian jungle, it was natural that 
both Sam and Eobin should wish to see a little 
sport among large game, their professional enthusi- 
asm rose superior to their sporting tendencies, and 
they decided next day to accompany their host on 
a short trip of inspection to a neighbouring tele- 
graph station, Letta being made over to the care 
of the hostess, was forthwith installed as assistant 
nurse to the white baby, whom she already regarded 



314 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

as a delicious doll — so readily does female nature 
adapt itself to its appropriate channels ! 

JSTot less readily did Jim Slagg adapt himself to 
one of the peculiar channels of man's nature. Sport 
was one of Slagg's weaknesses, though he had enjoyed 
very little of it, poor fellow, in the course of his life. 
To shoot a lion, a tiger, or an elephant, was, in Slagg's 
estimation, the highest possible summit of earthly 
felicity. He was young, you see, at that time, and 
moderately foolish ! But although he had often 
dreamed of such bliss, he had never before expected 
to be within reach of it. His knowledge of sport, 
moreover, was entirely theoretic. He knew indeed 
how to load a rifle and pull the trigger, but nothing 
more. 

"You haven't got many tigers in these parts, I 
suppose ?" he said to Flinn as they sauntered towards 
the house after seeing the electrical party off. He 
asked the question with hesitation, being impressed 
with a strange disbelief in tigers, except in a 
menagerie, and feeling nearly as much ashamed 
as if he had asked whether they kept elephants 
in the sugar-basin. To his relief Flinn did not 
laugh, bnt replied quite gravely — 

" Och ! yes, we 've got a few, but they don't often 
come ni^h the house. We have to thravel a bit into 
the jungle, and camp out, whin we wants wan. I 
heard master say he 'd have a try at 'em to-morrow, 



THE BATTEllY AND THE BOILER. 



315 



so you '11 see tlie fun, for we Ve all got to turn out 
whin we go after tigers. If you 're fond o' sport in 
a small way, liowiver, I can give ye a turn among 
the birds an' small game to-day." 

" There 's nothing I 'd like better," said Slagg, 
jumping at the offer like a hungry trout at a fly. 

" Come along, then," returned the groom heartily ; 
" we '11 take shot-guns, an' a spalpeen of a black boy 
to carry a spare rifle an' the bag." 

In a few minutes the two men, with fowling- 
pieces on their shoulders, and a remarkably attenu- 
ated black boy at their heels carrying a large bore 
rifle, entered the jungle behind the electrician's 
bungalow, , 



316 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE,. 



CHAPTEE XXV. 

A GREAT FIELD-DAY, IN WHICH SLAGG DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF. 

'No^Y, although we have said that Jim Slagg knew 
how to pull a trigger, it does not follow that he 
knew how to avoid pulling that important little 
piece of metal. He was aware, of course, that the 
keeping of his forefinger off the trigger was a point 
of importance, but how to keep it off when in a state 
of nervous expectation, he knew not, because his 
memory and the forefinger of his right hand appeared 
to get disconnected at such times, and it did not 
occur to him, just at first, that there was such an 
arrangement in gun-locks as half-cock. 

riinn reminded him of the fact, however, when, 
soon after entering the jungle, his straw hat was 
blown off his head by an accidental discharge of 
Slagg's gun, 

" Mver mention it," said Flinn, picking up his 
riven headpiece, while poor Slagg overwhelmed him 
with protestations and a^^ologies, and the black boy 
stood behind exposing his teeth and gums and the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE, 



317 



whites of Ids eyes freely ; " niver mention it, Mr. 
Slagg ; accidents ivill happen, you know, in the best 
regulated families. As for me beaver, it 's better 
riddled than whole in this warm weather. Maybe 
you 'd as well carry your gun at what sodgers call 
' the showlder/ wid the muzzle pintin' at the moon — 
so ; that 's it. Don't blame yoursilf, Mr. Slagg. Sure, 
it 's worse than that I was when I begood, for the 
nasty thing I carried wint off somehow of its own 
accord, an' I shot me mother's finest pig — wan barrel 
into the tail, an' the other into the hid. You see, 
they both wint off a'most at the same moment. 
We must learn by exparience, av coorse. You 've 
not had much shootin' yet, I suppose ?" 

Poor, self- condemned Slagg admitted that he had 
not, and humbly attended toFlinn's instructions, after 
which they proceeded on their way ; but it might 
have been observed that Flinn kept a corner of his 
eye steadily on his new friend during the remainder 
of that day, while the attenuated black kept so close 
to Slagg's elbow as to render the pointing of the 
muzzle of his gun at him an impossibility. 

Presently there was heard among the bushes a 
whirring of wings, and up flew a covey of large 
birds of the turkey species. Flinn stepped briskly 
aside, saying, "N"ow thin, let drive!" while the 
attenuated black fell cautiously in rear. 

Bang ! bang ! went Slagg's gun. 



318 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" Oil !" he cried, conscience-stricken ; " there, if I 
haven't done it again !" 

"Done it! av coorse ye have!" cried Flinn, 
picking up an enormous bird ; " it cudn't have bin 
nater done by a sportin' lord." 

" Then it ain't a tame one ?" asked Slagg eagerly. 

" Ko more a tame wan than yoursilf, an' the best 
of aitin' too," said Minn. 

Jim Slagg went on quietly loading his gun, and 
did not think it necessary to explain that he had 
supposed the birds to be tame turkeys, that his 
piece had a second time gone off by accident, and 
that he had taken no aim at all ! 

After that, however, he managed to subdue his 
feelings a little, and accidentally bagged a few more 
birds of strange form and beautiful plumage, by the 
simple process of shutting his eyes and firing into 
the middle of flocks, to the immense satisfaction of 
Flinn, who applauded all his successes and explained 
away all his failures in the most amiable manner. 

If the frequent expanding of the mouth from ear 
to ear, the exposure of white teeth and red gums, 
and the shutting u.p of glittering eyes, indicated 
enjoyment, the attenuated boy must have been in 
a blissful condition that day. 

"Why don't ye shoot yerself. Mister Flinn?" 
asked Slagg on one occasion while reloading. 
" Lekaise it shuits me better to look on," answered 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



319 



the self-denying man. " You see, I 'm used to it ; 
besides, I 'm a marciful man, and don't care to slioot 
only for divarshion." 

"What's that?" cried Slagg, suddenly pointing 
Ms gun straight upwards at two brilliant black eyes 
which were gazing straight down at him. 

" Howld on— och ! don't—" 

Minn thrust the gun aside, but he was too late to 
prevent the explosion, which was followed by a 
lamentable cry, as a huge monkey fell into Slagg's 
arms, knocked him over with the shock, and 
bounded off his breast into its native woods, 
shrieking. 

" Arrah ! he's niver a bit the worse," cried Flinn, 
laughing, in spite of his native politeness, " it was 
the fright knocked him off the branch. If you'd 
only given him wan shot he might have stud it, 
but two was too much for him.. But plaise, 
Mister Slagg, don't fire at monkeys again. I niver 
do it mesilf, an' can't stand by to see it. It 's so 
like murther, an' the only wan I iver shot in me 
life was so like me own owld gran'niother that I've 
niver quite got over it." 

Slagg willingly promised never again to fire at 
monkeys, and they proceeded on their way. 

They had not gone far, when another whirring of 
wings was heard, but this time the noise was 
greater than on other occasions. 



320 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



" What is it?" asked Slagg eagerly, prexmring for 
action, 

" Sure it's a paycock/' said. Flinn, 

"A what-cock?" asked Slagg, who afterwards 
described the noise to be like the flapping of a 
mainsail. 

" A vay-Qook. Splendid aitin'. Fire, avic ! " 

"What! fire at thatV' cried Slagg, as a creature 
of enormous size and gorgeous plumage rose above 
the bushes. " Ye must be jolan'. I couldn't fire 
at that." 

"Faix, an' ye naidn't fire at it noio^' returned 
Flinn with a quiet smile, "for it's a mile out o' 
range by this time. Better luck — och ! if there 
isn't another. Now, thin, don't be in a hurry. Be 
aisy. Whatever ye do, be aisy.'^ 

While he spoke another huge bird appeared, and 
as Slagg beheld its size and spreading wings and 
tail, he took aim with the feelings of a cold-blooded 
murderer. That is to say, he shut both eyes and 
pulled both triggers. This double action had be- 
come a confirmed habit by that time, and Flinn 
commended it on the principle that there was 
" nothin' like makin' cocksure of everything !" 

Ee-opening his eyes and lowering his gun, Slagg 
beheld the peacock sailing away in the far dis- 
tance. 

" Sure ye 've missed it, but after all it 's a most 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 321 



awkward bird to hit — specially when ye don't pint 
the gun quite straight. An' the tail, too, is apt to 
throw even a crack-shot out — so it is. Mver mind; 
there 's plenty more where that wan came from." 

Thus encouraged, our sportsman reloaded and 
continued his progress. 

It is said that fortune favours the brave, and on 
that occasion the proverb was verified. There can be 
no question that our friend Jim Slagg was brave. 
All Irishmen are courageous, therefore it is equally 
certain that Minn was brave, and the attenuated 
black could not have been otherwise than brave, 
else he would not have continued to enjoy himself 
in the dangerous neighbourhood of Slagg's gun. 
As a consequence, therefore, fortune did favour the 
sportsmen that day, for it brought them unex- 
pectedly into the presence of the king of India's 
forests — a royal Bengal tiger — tawny skin, round 
face, glaring eyes, and black stripes complete from 
nose to tail ! 

There was no doubt in Flinn's mind about it, 
as his actions j)i'oved, but there w^ere consider- 
able doubts in Slagg's mind, as was evinced by 
his immediate petrifaction — not with fear, of 
course, but with something or other remarkably 
similar. 

Slagg chanced to be walking in advance at the 
time, making his way with some trouble through a 

X 



322 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOlLEr.. 



rather dense bit of jungle. He had by that time 
recovered his self-possession so much that he was 
able to let his mind wander to other subjects 
besides sport. 

At the moment when the rencontre occurred he 
chanced to be wandering in spirit among the groves 
of Pirate Island. On turning sharp round a bend 
in the track, he found himself face to face with the 
tiger, which crouched instantly for a spring. As 
we have said, the sportsman was instantly petrified. 
He could not believe his eyes ! He must have 
believed something, however, else he would not 
have gazed with such dreadful intensity. Yes, 
there, a few feet before him, crouched the tenant of 
the menagerie, without the cage — the creature of 
picture story-books endued with life ! 

Had Slagg's life depended on his putting his gun 
to his shoulder he would have lost it, for he could 
not move. His fingers, however, were gifted with 
independent action. They gave a spasmodic jerk, 
and both barrels, chancing to be levelled cor- 
rectly, sent their charges full into the tiger's 
face. 

Small shot may tickle a tiger but it cannot kill. 
With a roar like thunder the brute sprang on its 
audacious enemy. Fortunately Slagg made an in- 
voluntary step to the rear at the moment, and fell 
flat on his hack, so that the animal, half- blinded 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 323 

by shot and smoke, went over him, and alighted 
almost at the feet of Flinn. 

That worthy was equal to the occasion. At the 
sound of his friend's double shot he had seized the 
large rifle and leaped forward in time to meet the 
baffled tiger. Quick as light his practised hand 
discharged the heavy bullet, which, passing over 
the animal's head, went into its spine near the 
haunches, so that when it tried a second spring its 
hind legs refused their office, and it rolled over 
fuming and struggling in an agony of pain and rage. 

riinn ran a few paces backward so as to reload 
in comparative safety, while Slagg followed his 
example, but in desperate haste. Before he had 
half charged the first barrel, a second shot from the 
heavy rifle laid the royal monster dead on the 
ground. 

"Well done!" cried Flinn, seizing his friend's 
hand and wringing it. " It 's Nimrod you are, no 
less. I niver saw a purtier shot. An', faix, it 's not 
every man that kills a tiger his first day out." 

" But I didnH kill it," said Slagg modestly. 

" Sure but ye drew first blood, me boy, so the 
tiger's yours, an' I wish you joy. Come, we'll go 
home now an' git help to fetch the carcass. Won't 
they open their two eyes aich of them whin they 
see it ! Here, ye black spalpeen, take the rifle an' 
give, me the gun." 



324 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



In a few minutes the fortunate hunters were 
wending their way rapidly homeward, and that 
night the whole party, while enjoying their supper, 
feasted their eyes on the magnificent form of the 
royal Bengal tiger as it lay on the verandah, in 
front of the electrician's bunf^alow. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



325 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

BEGINS WITH A DISAPPOINTMENT, CONTINUES WITH A ©REAT 
RECEPTION, AND ENDS WITH A SERIES OE SURPRISES. 

At the breakfast-table next morning a telegram 
was handed to Eedpath. There was nothing un- 
usual in this. On the contrary, it seemed peculiarly 
natural that telegrams should be frequent visitors 
at the house of a telegraphist, but it was not so 
natural that Eedpath should first look at the missive 
with surprise, and then toss it across the table to Sam. 

" It is for you, Mr. Shipton." 

" For me ? Impossible ! I am supposed to be 
dead at home," exclaimed Sam, tearing it open. " Oh, 
it's from Frank Hedley, and — well, he has been 
successful after all! Listen, Eobin. Excuse me, 
Mrs. Eedpath. May I read it aloud ?" 

By all means," answered the pretty little woman, 
who would probably have answered the ssame if 
he had asked leave to go to bed in his boots. 

" ' Your affair settled ' " — continued Sam, reading. 

" ' Great Eastern starts almost immediately. Come 
without delay.' " 



326 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



"How provoking!" exclaimed the pretty little 
woman. " I had counted on having you a fortnight 
at least." 

" And I had counted on showing you some capital 
sport in our jungles, where we have all sorts of large 
game. But of course you cannot do otherwise than 
obey the summons at once." 

" Of course not," said Sam and Eobin together. 

riinn left the room and entered the servants' 
quarters with something like a groan. 

" Sure it 's bad luck has followed me iver since I 
left owld Ireland." 

"What's wrong with you?" asked Slagg, looking 
up from the slice of peacock breast with which he 
was regaling himself. 

"The matter ? Och, it's bad luck's the matter. 
Hasn't our frindship only just begood, an' isn't it 
goin' to be cut short all of a suddint, niver more to 
be renewed ?" 

In pathetic tones, and with many Hibernian com- 
ments, the poor man communicated the news brought 
by the telegram. But regrets were of no avail ; the 
orders were peremptory; the chance of returning 
to England in such circumstances too good to be 
lightly thrown away ; so that same forenoon saw 
the whole party, with the skin of the royal tiger, on 
their way back to the city of Bombay. 

It is easier to imagine than to describe the state 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



327 



of mind into which tliey were thrown when, on 
returning to their hotel, they discovered the perfidy of 
Stumps. Fortunately, they had enough of money left 
to discharge the hotel bill, and redeem their property. 

" You 're quite sure of the name of the vessel he 
sailed in ? " asked Sam of the waiter who had so 
cleverly obtained and so cautiously retained his in- 
formation as to the proceedings of Stumps. 

" Quite sure, sir," replied the waiter. " The ship's 
name was Fairy Queen, bound for the port of Lon- 
don, and the thief— the gen'lem'n, I mean — shipped 
in the name of James Gibson." 

Having received the " consideration " which he 
had anticipated, and had afterwards given up as 
lost, the waiter retired, and Sam, with his friends, 
went to inquire after the great cable with which 
they now felt themselves to be specially connected. 

" Letta," said Eobin, as they went along, " you and 
I must part for a time." 

" Oh ! must we ? " asked the child, with a dis- 
tressed look. 

" Yes, but only for a very short time, dear," re- 
turned Eobin. " You know we cannot get you a 
berth on board the Great Eastern. They won't even 
take you as chief engineer or captain ! " 

" But why not as the captain's daughter — or his 
wife?" said Letta, who thoroughly understood and 
enjoyed a joke. 



328 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



" Because, Letta, you are engaged to me," replied 
Eobin, with an offended look. 

" 0 yes ; I forgot that. Well ?" 

Well, what we have arranged is this. I have met 
with many kind people here, some of whom have 
been greatly interested in your story, and one of 
them — a very nice lady, who is going home — has 
offered to take you with her, and deliver you safely 
to my mother in England, there to wait till I come 
home and marry you." 

"How nice!" exclaimed Letta; "and you'll be 
sure to come home soon ?" 

" Yes, quite sure, and very soon." 

This arrangement, being deemed satisfactory, was 
afterwards carried into effect, and Letta sailed a 
few days later in one of the regular steamers for 
England via the Suez Canal. 

Meanwhile the Great Eastern still lay at her 
moorings, completing the arrangements for her 
voyage. 

During this period our hero lived in a whirl of 
excitement. It seemed to himself as if he were the 
subject of an amazing but by no means unpleasant 
dream, the only dark spots in which were the 
departure of Letta and the depravity of John 
Shanks, alias J ames Gibson, alias Stumps. 

" Oh ! Stumps, Stumps," he soliloquised, sadly, 
one day while standing on " the green " in the un- 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



329 



romantic sliade of a huge bale of cotton, "liow 
could you behave so after being our trusted comrade 
so long !" 

"ISTever mind Stumps just now," said Sam 
Shipton, making his appearance at the moment, 
"but come along with me at once, for we have 
received an invitation, through my good and re- 
markable friend Frank Hedley, to the grand enter- 
tainment to be given to-night at the palace of the 
chief and Bahee Sahib of Junkhundee." 

"And who may that be?" asked Eobin, with an 
incredulous smile. 

" What ! know you not the great chief whose 
praise is in the mouths of all— Hindu, Mohammedan, 
Jew, and Gentile, because he feeds and entertains 
them all like a prince ?" 

" He is the creation of your own brain, Sam, I 
fancy." 

" ISTo indeed," protested Sam, earnestly, " I do 
not jest. The Bahee Sahib is a wealthy young 
Mahratta chieftain, who has been consistently loyal 
to us, and who entertains mixed parties of English- 
men and natives in European style, and does his 
best to break down the barriers of prejudice and 
caste. He has been hospitably received on board 
the Great Eastern, it seems, and is now getting up 
a grand affair in honour of Captain Halpin and his 
officers. So, come alonq;." 



330 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



" But, my dear Sam, you forget, we have not a 
dress suit between us, and in the present condition 
of our finances it would be folly to — " 

" Fiddlesticks, Eobin. We have only to make a 
couple of turbans out of bath-towels and a few pea- 
cock feathers ; turn Persian shawls, which we can 
borrow, into kilts, put on slippers, bare our legs and 
paint them with red and blue stripes crossed, to 
indicate something of Scottish Highland origin, 
anoint our noses with blue bear's-grease, and — " 

" ITonsense, Sam ; be serious if you can, and con- 
sider what we are really to do." 

" You 're so impatient, Eobin. The thing has all 
been considered for us. We have nothing to do 
but accept our fate. Frank Hedley, who is exactly 
your size, has a dress suit which he will lend you, 
and a friend of his, who happens to be exactly and 
conveniently my size, has also a suit, and is equally 
accommodating. Come now, for time presses, and I 
am told the Lahee's wife loves punctuality — but 
she 's liberal-minded like her husband, and makes 
allowance for laziness, especially in hot weather. 
She is a regular trump, it seems, and quite amazed 
our electricians, during her visit to the big ship, by 
her intelligent comprehension of all they explained 
to her. She is an accomplished equestrian, and 
dresses as a native princess, with a huge ornament 
in her nose, but does not disdain to mingle with 



TJIE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



331 



English ladies in tlie Bombay Eotten Eow, and uses 
a European saddle." 

The account which Sam had thus slightly sketched 
was more than borne out by the facts that evening. 
The young Eajah's reception-rooms, blazing with 
light, were decorated with all that the wealth of 
fancy could suggest or the wealth of precious metal 
procure, while music and perfume filled the air and 
intoxicated the senses. 

For some time Sam and Robin moved slov/Iy 
about in the crowded rooms, finding themselves 
rubbing shoulders, now with Eastern aristocrats in 
richest costume and glittering jewels, now with Eng- 
land's warriors in scarlet and blue ; sometimes with 
Parsees, Hindus, Mohammedans, and Jews in their 
characteristic garbs, at other times with European 
civilians, like themselves, in sober black. 

It was a bewildering scene, and the loud con- 
tinuous murmur of many voices, chattering in many 
tongues, did not tend to decrease the bewilderment. 

''What are they about over there said Eobin, 
directing his companion's attention to a room in 
which the people appeared to be observing some- 
thing with great attention. 

" I don't know. Let 's go and see," said Sam. 

A little polite pushing brought them into an 
apartment in which an English professor of conjur- 
ing, who had been engaged for the occasion, v/as 



332 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



exhibiting his tricks. They were poor enough, and 
would not have commanded much applause from 
any audience, except one that had met to enjoy 
whatever chanced to be provided. 

In another room, however, they found a per- 
former of much greater capacity — a man who 
possessed considerable powers as a musician, low 
comedian, and local satirist ; he was noted for his 
delineations of native character, and succeeded in 
making the Parsees laugh heartily at his caricature 
of the Hindus, while he convulsed the Hindus 
with his clever skits on the Parsees. He also made 
effective reference to the Great Eastern and her 
work, bringing out the humorous aspects of tele- 
graphy and of quick communication between India 
and England. 

" Come, let 's go and see if we can find anything 
to eat," said Sam, when tired of this man. 

"Who is that?" asked Eobin, as they moved 
through the crowd. 

''Why, that's the Bahee himself. See, he has 
got hold of Captain Halpin, and seems greatly 
pleased to lead him about." 

The Eajah did indeed exhibit much satisfaction 
in his beaming brown face at having got hold of so 
noted a character as the commander of the monster 
ship, and it was pleasant to see the almost child- 
like glee with which, taking the captain by the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 333 



hand, he threaded his way through the crowd, intro- 
ducing him right and left to his friends. Not less 
pleasant was it to observe the lively interest with 
which the natives regarded the captain when they 
learned who he was. 

At this point in the evening's proceedings, a 
gentleman in civilian costume came up to Sam 
Shipton, and asked him if he were acquainted with 
Mr. Davis — one of the petty officers of the Great 
Eastern. 

" I know him slightly," said Sam. 

" He has got into trouble, sir," said the stranger, 
"and begged me to find you, if possible, and take 
you to him. I have been on board the Great Eastern 
looking for you, and was directed here." 

"That's strange," returned Sam, "I have seldom 
spoken to the man. Are you sure he did not 
send you for some one else — one of his mess- 
mates ?" 

" Quite sure, sir. And he bade me urge you to 
go quickly, else you may be too late." 

" Well — ^lead the way. Come, Eobin, I 'm sorry 
to quit this gay and festive scene — especially be- 
fore supper — but it can't be helped. You'll go 
with me, and we can return together." 

The stranger seemed to hesitate a moment, as if 
annoyed at Eobin being thus asked to go, but, as if 
quickly making up his mind, led them out of the 



334 THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



Eajali's residence, and,, after a smart walk, conducted 
them into one of the poorer districts of the city. 

"What sort of trouble has the man got into?" 
asked Sam as they went along. 

" I really do not know. He will tell you when 
you see him, I suppose. I am only a casual acquaint- 
ance of his, and came on this errand to obliG^e him, 
solely because he seemed in great mental distress 
and was very urgent." 

Soon the conversation turned upon cable-laying, 
and, finding that Eobin had been at the laving of 
the Atlantic cable of 1856, the stranger inquired 
about the attempts that had been made to injure 
that cable. 

" Tell me, now, would you think it a sin," he said, 
with a peculiar look at Sam, " to drive a nail into 
the cable so as to destroy it, if you were offered the 
sum of ten thousand pounds ?" 

"Of course I would," said Sam, looking at his 
conductor with surprise. " I wonder that you should 
ask the question." 

"Why should you wonder," returiied the man 
with a smile, " at any question which aims at the 
investigation of that great enigma styled the human 
mind ? I am fond of the study of character, and of 
those principles of good and evil which influence 
men. Under given circumstances and conditions, 
the commission of a certain sin is greatly more 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 335 

blamewortliy than the commission of tlie same sin 
under different conditions and circumstances. Do 
you not think so ?" 

" Of course I do," said Sam. " The man who, having 
been born and brought up among pickpockets, and 
under strong temptation commits a theft, is not 
nearly so guilty as the man would be who, having 
been trained under refined and Christian influences, 
should commit a similar theft ; but I do not see the 
application of your argument, for your question did 
not refer to the relative depth of guilt, but to the 
sinfulness or innocence of a certain dastardly act 
for a tempting sum of money." 

"I may not have put my question very philo- 
sophically," returned the stranger, " but I would like 
to have your opinion as to whether you think, under 
any circumstances of distress — poverty, for instance, 
with those dependent on one dying of hunger — a 
man would be justified in destroying the power of a 
telegraph cable for a sum of money — part, let us 
suppose, paid in advance, and the remainder after 
the deed had been accomplished." 

" My opinion is that no circumstances whatever 
would justify such an act," said Sam with indigna- 
tion. " Don't you agree with me, Eobin ? " 

"Of course I do," said Eobin with even greater 
indignation. 

" And / quite agree with you, gentlemen," said 



336 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE, 



the stranger, with a wider smile than before ; " but 
I like to have my opinions corroborated or com- 
bated by other minds. We have now reached our 
destination ; please follow me, and stoop a little, 
for the ceiling of the passage is rather low, and the 
poor people here cannot afford to light it. 

The recent discussion had diverted Sam's mind 
from the character of the place into which he had 
been led, but a suspicion which had been growing 
now assailed him forcibly. 

" Keep your stick handy," he whispered to Eobin, 
at the same time grasping more firmly a stout 
cudgel which he carried. 

These precautions seemed needless, however, for 
the stranger, opening with a latch-key a door at 
the further end of the dark passage, ushered them 
into a dimly lighted room, where about a dozen 
men were seated round a table drinking and 
smoking. 

The men rose on the entrance of the visitors and 
received them with courtesy. 

" Mr. Davis will be glad to see you, sir," said one ; 
" he has been in much anxiety, but here he comes 
and will speak for himself." 

A door at the other end of the room opened, and 
a tall slightly-built man entered. Sam saw at once 
that he was iiot Davis. 

" Fool ! " growled this man, with a savage look 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 337 

at the stranger who had conducted them there, 
" you have brought the wrong man ! " 

" I had already begun to suspect as much/' re- 
turned the other, with a light laugh. 

Swallowing his disgust, apparently, with an 
effort, the slim man turned to Sam and said, " A 
mistake has been made, sir. One or two of my 
friends here will conduct you to any part of the 
city yon may wish to go to." 

" I require no assistance," said Sam, flushing 
with sudden indignation. " I believe that you are 
conspirators, and will take particular note of your 
dwelling, in order that I may spoil your game." 

He was about to turn and quit the room, when 
he was suddenly seized from behind by two power- 
ful men, who seemed to have come on the scene 
by rising through the floor ! At the same moment 
Eobiu was similarly secured. They did not, how- 
ever, submit tamely. Both were strong-bodied as 
well as high-spirited, and Sam was large as well as 
strong. 

But what were their powers against such odds ! 
For a few seconds they struggled furiously. Then, 
feeling that their efforts were fruitless, they ceased. 

" It is as well to go quietly, my fine fellows," 
said the slim, man in a slightly sarcastic tone. 
" We are not only more than a match for you, but 
we happen to belong to a class of gentlemen who 

Y 



338 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



don't allow trifles to stand in their way. At the 
same time we ohject to murder when we can get 
along without it. Some of us will therefore con- 
duct you to another part of the city. 'Now, I give 
you fair warning, if you struggle or try to make 
a noise on the way, we will silence you in a manner 
that will effectually keep you quiet for ever. Just 
have your knives handy, men, and don't exercise 
forbearance if these gentlemen turn out to be fools." 

A prick in their necks by the point of some 
sharp instrument emphasised these words to Eobin 
and Sam, and, at the same time, proved that the 
subordinates were quite ready, perhaps even anxious, 
to obey their superior. They suffered themselves, 
therefore, to be blindfolded, and led out of the house. 

Of course once or twice they both thought of 
making a sudden struggle and endeavouring to 
throw off their captors, but the vice-like strength 
of the fingers that held them, and the recollection 
of the sharp instruments near their necks induced 
discretion; besides, the absence of the sound of 
footsteps told them that they could not count 
on aid from passers-by, even if the dwellers in such 
a region had been willing to assist them, which 
was not probable. 

After passing quickly along several streets, the 
men who led them stopped and relaxed their 
hold, 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



339 



" 'Now, you stand quiet for half a minute," said 
one of them gruffly ; " there 's a knife close to each 
of your spines at this moment." 

Thus warned, the captives stood still for nearly a 
minute. Then Sam lost patience. 

" Well," he said, angrily, " how long do you mean 
to keep us here ?" 

Eeceiving no reply, he suddenly pulled the hand- 
kerchief from his eyes and assumed the pugilistic 
attitude with the celerity of one whose life may 
depend on his action, hut the only enemy to he 
seen was Eohin, who, having also pulled down the 
handkerchief, stood staring at his comrade in mute 
surprise. 

" They 're gone !" cried Sam, bursting into a fit of 
laughter. "The villains ! The scoundrels ! But who 
can they be ? I fear there can be little doubt as to 
what mischief they are up to." 

"We have not the smallest clew to trace them 
by," said Eobin, with a vexed expression. 

" 'Not the smallest. I don't even know what 
quarter of the town we are in now," returned Sam. 

" The handkerchiefs ! " exclaimed Eobin with 
sudden animation. 

"Well, what of them?" 

" They — they may have names in the corners." 
Again the risible Sam burst into a loud laugh, as 
the idea of scoundrels possessing any handkerchieft 



340 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



of their own at all, much less having their names 
marked in the corners ; and poor Eobin, whose me- 
mories of maternal care had prompted the thought, 
felt some degree of confusion, which was deepened 
when he discovered that the kerchiefs with 
which their eyes had been bound were their 
own. 

They were startled by a gruff voice demanding to 
know what they were laughing at and kicking up 
such a row at that time of the morning ! 

It was one of the guardians of the night, who 
became very polite on drawing nearer and being in- 
formed, in a mild voice, by Sam that they had lost 
their way and would be much indebted for guid- 
ance, for Sam thought it best to say nothing about 
their adventure until they had had ample time to 
think it over and decide what was best to be done. 

Having been directed how to go, having lost 
themselves a second time, and been directed again 
by another guardian, they found themselves at last 
in the neighbourhood of the port, and here the 
sound of loud voices, as if engaged in some noc- 
turnal orgies, was heard in the distance. 

" As we seem in for a night of adventure," said 
Sam, " we may as well accept our fate and go see 
what it's all about." 

" Agreed," said Eobin. 

Hurrying forward, they came upon a remarkable 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



341 



and picturesque scene. The engineers of the Great 
Eastern had chosen the previous day for the laying 
of the mile of land-line with which the cable was to 
be connected. The burying of it in its appointed 
home had commenced at half- past six in the even- 
ing and had continued all through the night. It 
was about 2 a.m. when our adventurers came upon 
the scene. The trench was cut through ground on 
which a number of soldiers were encamped, whose 
white tents looked ghostlike in the feeble star- 
light, and lines of naked natives were seen, waving 
lanterns, pushing along the mysterious cable, or, 
with hands and feet busily pressing down the loose 
soil that covered the buried portion. 

The whole operation was conducted with a super- 
abundance of noise, for the burying of a rope in a 
a trench three feet deep was in itself such a 
tremendous joke to the coolies, that they entered 
upon it with much excitement as a sort of 
unusual piece of fun. That they were in some 
degree also impressed with the mysterious and im- 
portant object of their work might have been 
gathered from their chant : — " Good are the cable- 
wallahs, great are their names; good are the 
cable-wallahs, wah ! wah ! wah ! great are the cable- 
wallahs, wah !" which they continued without in- 
termission all through the night, to their own 
intense delight and to the annoyance no doubt of 



342 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



the military unfortunates who were encamped on 
the ground. 

Besides the naked fellows who, in their excite- 
ment and activity, resembled good-humoured, brown, 
demons, there were many other figures in English 
dress moving about, directing and encouraging, 
running from point to point, flitting to and fro like 
wills-o'-the-wisp, for all bore lights, and plunged 
ever and anon out of sight in the trench. Between 
three and four o'clock the work was completed ; 
tests were taken, the portion of cable was pro- 
nounced perfect, and communication was thus 
established between the cable-house and Eampart 
Eow. This was the first link in the great chain of 
submarine telegraphy between India and England. 

" Now, Kobin," said Sam, with a tremendous yawn, 
" as we've seen the first act in the play, it is time, 
I think, to go home to bed." 

With a yawn that rivalled that of his comrade, 
Eobin admitted the propriety of the proposal, and, 
half an hour later, they turned in, to sleep— 
" perchance to dream 1" 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER, 34:3 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 

DESCRIBES SEVEEAL IMPOBTANT EVENTS. 

The laying of this thick shore-end of the cable 
was an important point in the great work. 

By that time Eobin and cousin Sam had been 
regularly installed as members of the expedition, 
and were told off with many others to assist at the 
operation. 

The Chiltern carried the great coil in her tanks. 
After rounding Colaba Point into Back Bay, she 
found a barge waiting to receive some two-and-a- 
half miles of the cable, with which she was to pro- 
ceed to the shore. The barge resembled a huge 
Noah's Ark, having a canvas awning to protect the 
cable, which was very sensitive to heat. 

A measure of anxiety is natural at the begin- 
ning of most enterprises, and there were some who 
dreaded a " hitch " with superstitious fear, as if it 
would be a bad omen. But all went well. 

" ISTow then, boys — shove her alang ; push her 
through," said an experienced leader among the 



344 



tTHE BATTERY AND THE BOILEIl. 



cable-hands, who grasped the great coil and guided 
it. The men took up the words at once, and, to 
this species of spoken chorus, " shove her along, 
push her through," the snaky coil was sent rattling 
over the pulley-wheels by the tank and along the 
wooden gutter prepared for it, to the paying-out 
wheel at the Chiltern's stern, whence it plunged 
down into the barge, where other experienced hands 
coiled it carefully round and round the entire deck. 

It is difficult to describe the almost tender solici- 
tude with which all this was done. The cable was 
passed carefully — so carefully — through all the huge 
staples that were to direct its course from the fore- 
tank to the wheel at the stern. Then it was made 
to pass over a wheel here and under a wheel there, 
to restrain its impetuosity, besides being passed 
three times round a drum, which controlled the 
paying out. A man stood ready at a wheel, which, 
by a few rapid turns, could bring the whole affair 
to a standstill should anything go wrong. In the 
fore-tank eight men guided each coil to prevent 
entanglement, and on deck men were stationed a 
few feet apart all along to the stern, to watch every 
foot as it passed out. Three hours completed the 
transfer. Then the barge went slowly shoreward, 
dropping the cable into the sea as she went. 

It was quite a solemn procession ! Tirst went a 
Government steam-tug, flaunting flags from deck 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



345 



to trucks as tliick as they could hang. Then came 
the barge with her precious cargo. Then two boats 
full of cable-hands, and an official gig pulled by a 
Chinaman, while the steam-launch Electric kept 
buzzing about as if superintending all. 

When the tug had drawn the barge shoreward as 
far as she could with safety, the smaller " Electric " 
took her place. When she also had advanced as 
far as her draught allowed, a boat carried to the 
shore a hawser, one end of which was attached to 
the cable. Then the cable-hands dropped over the 
sides of the barge up to waist, chest, or neck (ac- 
cording to size), and, ranging themselves on either 
side of the rope and cable, dragged the latter to the 
shore, up the trench made for its reception, and 
laid its end on the great stone table, where it was 
made fast, tested by the electricians, as we have 
said, and pronounced perfect. 

A few more days had to pass before the insati- 
able Great Eastern was filled with coal and reported 
ready for sea. Then, as a matter of course, she 
wound up ■with, a grand feast — a luncheon — on 
board, at which many of the leading authorities 
and merchants of Bombay were present, with a 
brilliant company which entirely filled the spacious 
saloons. 

" Owing to circumstances," said Sam to Eobin 
that day, " over which we have no control, you and 



346 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



I cannot be included among the guests at tins ap- 
proacliing feast." 

" I 'm sorry for that, Sam," said our hero. 

"Why so, Eobin? Does a morbid devotion to 
chicken and ham, or sweets, influence you ? " 

" Not at all, though I make no pretence of indif- 
ference to such things, but I should so much like to 
hear the speeches." 

" Well, my boy, your desire shall be gratified. 
Through the influence of our, I might almost say 
miraculous, friend, Frank Hedley, we shall be per- 
mitted to witness the proceedings from a retired 
corner of the saloon, in company with crockery and 
waiters and other dSbris of the feast." 

At the appointed time the company assembled, 
and enjoyed as good a luncheon as money could 
procure. 

How some people do eat ! " murmured Eobin 
from his corner to Sam, who sat beside him. 

" Yes, for it is their nature to/' replied Sam. 

After the first toast was drunk the company 
braced themselves to the mental work of the after- 
noon, and although, as a matter of course, a good 
deal of twaddle was spoken, there was also much 
that threw light on the subject of ocean telegraphy. 
One of the leading merchants said, in his opening 
remarks : "Few of those present, I daresay, are really 
familiar with the history of ocean telegraphy." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



347 



" Ah !" whispered Eobin to Sam, " tliat 's the 
man for me. He 's sure to tell us a good deal that 
we don't know, and although I have been ransacking 
Bombay ever since I arrived for information, I don't 
yet feel that I know much." 

" Hold your tongue, Eobin, and listen," said Sam. 

"Mind your foot, sir," remonstrated one of the 
steward's assistants, who had a lugubrious coun- 
tenance. 

Eobin took his foot out of a soup tureen, and 
applied himself to listen. 

" When I reflect," continued the merchant, " that 
it is now fourteen years since the first ocean tele- 
graph of any importance was laid, — when I re- 
member that the first cable was laid after an 
infinity of personal effort on the part of those who 
had to raise the capital, — when I mention that it 
was really a work of house-to-house visitation, when 
sums of £500 to £1000, and even £10,000 were 
raised by private subscription, with a view to laying 
a telegraph cable between England and America, 
when I reflect that the Queen's Government granted 
the use of one of its most splendid vessels, the 
Agamemnon {Hear ! hear ! a7id applaicse), and that 
the American Government granted the use of an 
equally fine vessel, the Magara {Rear ! hear ! and 
another round of applause, directed at the American 
Consul, who was present), — 



348 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



(" Five glasses smashed that round/" growled tlie 
lugubrious waiter.) 

" When I reflect/' continued the merchant, " that 
the expedition set out in 1857 with the greatest 
hopefulness, but proved a total failure — that the 
earnest men {Hear ! hear !) connected with it again 
set to work the following year, and laid another 
cable (Applause), which, after passing through it a 
few messages of great importance to England and 
America (Hear !) also ceased communication, which 
so damped the courage of all concerned, that for 
seven or eight weary years nothing was attempted 
— no, I should not say nothing, for during that 
period Mr. Cyrus Tield (thunders of long- continued 
applause, during which the lugubrious waiter counted 
the demolition of six glasses and two dessert plates), 
without whose able and persevering advocacy it is 
a question w^hether to this day we should have had 
ocean telegraphy carried out at all — during that 
period, I say, Mr. Cyrus Field never gave himself 
rest until he had inspired others with some of the 
enthusiasm that burned so brightly in himself, 
which resulted in the renewed effort of 1866, with 
its failure and loss of 1213 miles of cable, — when I 
think of the indomitable pluck and confidence shown 
by such men as Thomas Brassey, Sir Samuel Canning, 
Sir James Anderson, Sir Daniel Gooch, Sir Eichard 
Glass, Mr. George Elliot, Mr. Pender, Captain 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 349 



Sherard Osborn, and others — men of mind, and men 
of capital, and men who could see no difficulties — 
and I like men who can see no difficulties {Hear ! 
hear ! and loud applause), — 

(" You '11 see more difficulties than ye bargain for, 
if ye go through life maldn' people smash crockery 
like that," growled the lugubrious v/aiter.) 

" When I think of these men, and of the formation 
of the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance 
Company (Applause), and the successful laying of 
the 1866 cable, and the picking up and completion 
of the old cable {Loud cheers), — 

(" Hm ! a decanter gone this time. Will you 
take your foot out of the soup tureen, sir," from the 
lugubrious man, and an impatient "hush!" from 
Eobin.) 

" When I think of all these things, and a great 
deal more that I cannot venture to inflict on the 
indulgent company {Go on!) I feel that the toast 
which I have the honour to propose deserves a 
foremost place in the toasts of the day, and that you 
will heartily respond to it, namely, Success to the 
Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, 
for that Company has laid scores of cables since 
its formation, and has now successfully commenced, 
and will doubtless triumphantly complete, the laying 
of the cable which we have met to celebrate to-day 
— the fourth great enterprise, I may remark, which 



350 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



the Company has undertaken — the cable that is 
soon to connect India with England." 

The merchant sat down amid thunders of ap- 
plause, during which the reckoning of breakages 
was lost, and finally abandoned by the lugubrious 
waiter. 

At first Eobin and Sam listened with great interest 
and profound attention, and the former treasured in 
his memory, or made pencil notes of, such facts and 
expectations as the following : — That only nine 
months previously had they commenced the con- 
struction of the cable which was now about to be 
laid ; that Captain Halpin in the Great Eastern had 
laid the French Atlantic cable ; that in a few weeks 
they hoped to connect Bombay with Malta, and two 
months later with England; that, a few months 
after that, England would be connected with the 
Straits of Malacca and Singapore. " In short," said 
one gentleman at the close of his speech, " we hope 
that in 1871 India will be connected, chiefly by 
submarine telegraph, with China, Australia, Europe, 
and America, and that your morning messages will 
reach home about the same hour at which they are 
sent from here, allowing, of course, for the difference 
in time ; and that afternoon and evening messages 
from Europe will be in your hands at an early hour 
next morning." 

At this point the heat and unpleasant fumes 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



351 



around him began to tell upon Eobin, and he 
suggested that they had better go on deck for a little 
fresh air. 

" I '11 not budge/' said Sam, positively. " Why, 
the best is yet to come." 

Saying this, to the surprise of Eobin, Sam rose, 
went forward to the table, and asked permission to 
make a few remarks. 

"Who is he? — what? eh!" exclaimed the chair- 
man. "Turn him out," cried one. "Sit down," 
cried another, "l^o, no, let him speak," cried a 
third. " Don't you know it is Samuel Shipton, the 
great electrician ?" 

"Bravo ! go on ! speak out !" cried several voices, 
accompanied by loud applause. 

" Gentlemen," began Sam in his softest voice, " I 
regard this as one of the greatest occasions of — 
of — my Hie'' {Hear! hear! from a fussy guest ; and 
Hicsh ! hush ! and then we shall hear here letter, 
from an angry one). " I little thought," continued 
Sam, warming apparently with his subject — or the 
heat, " little thought that on this great occasion I 
could — could — I could (would or should ; go on, 
man, from an impatient guest). 

"Oh, Sam, don't stick !" cried Eobin, in an agony 
of anxiety. 

"Who's that ? Put him out !" chorused several 
voices indignantly. 



S52 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEPw 

"There, sir, you've put your foot in it at last," 
said the lugubrious waiter. 

Eobin thought he referred to the interruption, 
but the waiter's eyes and forefinger directed his 
attention to the soup tureen, which, in his eagerness, 
he had sacrificed with a stamp. Finding that no 
further notice was taken of the interruption, he 
listened, while Sam continued : — 

" Yes, gentlemen, I have some difficulty in start- 
ing, but, once set agoing, gentlemen, I can keep on 
like an alarum clock. What nonsense have some 
of you fellows been talking! Some of you have 
remarked that you shall be able to exchange 
messages with England in a few hours. Allow me 
to assure you that before long you will accomplish 
that feat in a few minutes." 

" Pooh ! pooh !" ejaculated an irascible old gentle- 
man with a bald head. 

"Did you say 'pooh !' sir?" demanded Sam, with 
a terrible frown. 

"I did, sir," replied the old gentleman, with a 
contemptuous smile. 

" Then, sir, take that." 

Sam hurled a wine decanter at the old gentleman, 
which, missing its mark, fell with a loud crash at 
the feet of Eobin, who awoke with a start to find 
Sam shaking him by the arm. 

" Wake up, Eobin," he said ; " man, you 've lost the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



353 



best speech of tlie evening. Come — come on deck 
now, you 've had quite enough of it." 

" Yes, an' done enough o' damage too," growled 
the lugubrious waiter. 

So Eobin became gradually, aware that Sam's 
speech was a mere fancy, while the smashing of the 
soup tureen was a hard fact. 

It may not, however, be out of place to remark 
here that the prophecy made by Sam in Eobin s 
dream, did afterwards become a great reality. 



354 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER, 



CHAPTER XXVIIT. 

THE CABLE LAID, 

''I SAY, Eobin," said Samuel Sliipton, as he en- 
countered our hero and Slagg that same evening in 
the streets of Bombay, " the government land tele- 
graph was reported this morning to have recovered 
its health." 

"Well, what of that?" 

" I have taken advantage of the lucid interval to 
send a telegram to uncle Rik. ISTo doubt your 
father has by this time received the telegram we 
sent announcing our safety and arrival here, so this 
one won't take them by surprise." 

" But what is it about ?" asked Eobin. 

" It is sent," replied Sam, " with the intention of 
converting uncle Eik into a thief- catcher. That 
stupid waiter told me only this morning that the 
time he followed Stumps to the harbour, he over- 
heard a sailor conversing with him and praising a 
certain tavern named the Tartar, near London Bridge, 
to which he promised to introduce him on their 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 355 

arrival in England ; so it struck me tliat by tele- 
graphing to uncle Eik to find out the owners of the 
Eairy Queen and the position of the Tartar, he 
might lay hold of Stumps on his arrival and recover 
our stolen property." 

" But I hope he won't put him in limbo, sir," said 
Jim Slagg. "I 've no objection to recover our pro- 
perty, but somehow I don't like to have the poor 
fellow transported. You see I can't help thinkin' 
he was half- cracked when he did it." 

" He must take his chance, I suppose," said Sam, 
thoughtfully. " However, the telegram is off, and, 
if it ever reaches him, uncle Eik will act with 
discretion." 

" I agree with Jim," said Eobin, " and should be 
sorry to be the means of ruining our old comrade." 

" It did not strike me in that light," returned Sam, 
a little troubled at the thought. " But it can't be 
helped now. In any case I suppose he could not 
be tried till we appear as witnesses against him." 

" I ain't much of a lawyer," said Slagg, " but it do 
seem to me that they couldn't very well take him 
up without some proof that the property wasn't his." 

" It may be so," returned Sam ; " we shall see 
when we get home. Meanwhile it behoves us to 
square up here, for the Great Eastern starts early 
to-morrow and we must be on board in good time 
to-night." 



356 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



Now, you must not imagine, good reader, that we 
intend to drag you a second time througli all the 
details of laying a deep-sea cable. The process of 
laying was much the same in its general principles 
as that already described, but of course marked by 
all the improvements in machinery, etc., which time 
and experience had suggested. Moreover, the laying 
of the Indian cable was eminently, we might almost 
say monotonously, successful, and, consequently, 
devoid of stirring incident. We shall therefore 
merely touch on one or two features of interest 
connected with it, and then pass on to the more 
important incidents of our story. 

When Eobin and his comrades drew near to the 
big ship, she was surrounded by a perfect fleet of 
native boats, whose owners were endeavouring to 
persuade the sailors to purchase bananas and other 
fruits and vegetables ; paroquets, sticks, monkeys, 
and fancy wares. 

Next morning, the 14th of February 1870, the 
Great Eastern lifted her mighty anchor, and spliced 
the end of the 2375 miles of cable she had on board 
to the shore-end, which had been laid by the Chiltern. 
This splice was effected in the presence of the 
Governor of Bombay, Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, who, 
with a small party, accompanied the Great Eastern 
a short distance on its way. Then, embarking in 
his yacht, they bade God-speed to the expedition, 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



357 



gave tliem three ringing cheers^ and the voyage to 
Aden began. 

Soon the cable-layers were gliding merrily over 
the bright blue sea at the rate of five or six knots an 
hour, with the cable going quietly over the stern, 
the machinery working smoothly, the electrical con- 
dition of the cable improving as the sea deepened, 
and flocks of flying-fish hovering over the crisp and 
curly waves, as if they were specially interested in 
the expedition, and wished to bear it company. 

All went well, yet were they well prepared for 
accident or disaster, as Sam informed Eobin on the 
morning of the 1 6th while sitting at breakfast. 

" They have got two gongs, as you 've observed, 
no doubt," he said, " which are never to be sounded 
except when mischief is brewing. The first intima- 
tion of fault or disaster will be a note from one of 
these gongs, when the ship will be instantly stepped, 
the brakes put on, and the engines reversed." 

Everything is splendidly prepared and provided 
for," said Eobin ; " hand me the sugar, Sam." 

''The elasticity and good behaviour of the big 
ship are all that could be desired," remarked one of 
the engineers, "though she carries 3000 tons more 
dead-weight than when she started with the Atlantic 
cable in 1865." 

At that moment there was a lull of consternation 
round the breakfast-table, for a drumming upon metal 



358 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

was heard ! For one instant there was a gaze of 
doubt round the table. Then they rose en masse ; 
cups were upset, and chairs thrown over ; the cabin 
was crossed at racing speed, — Captain Halpin leading 
— the staircase surmounted, and a rush made to the 
testing-room. 

There all was quiet and orderly; the operators 
placidly pursuing their labours, w^orking out their 
calculations, or watching the tell-tale spot of light 
on the scale, and all looking up in silent surprise 
at the sudden hubbub round their door. It was a 
false alarm, caused by the steady dripping of a 
shower-bath on its metal bottom ! That was all, 
but it was sufficient to prove how intensely men 
were on the qui vive. 

It was a wonderful scene, the deck of the Great 
Eastern — incomprehensible by those who have not 
seen it. The cabins, offices, workshops, and 
machinery formed a continuous line of buildings up 
the centre of the vessel's deck, dividing it into two 
streets an eighth of a mile long. At the end of one 
of these were the wheels and drums running from the 
top of the aft-tank to the stern ; and between them 
and the two thoroughfares were wooden houses 
which shut them out from view. There was a farm- 
yard also, where cattle were regularly turned out 
for exercise ; there were goats which were allowed 
to go free about the decks, and chickens which took 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



359 



the liberty of doing so, sometimes, without leave ; 
there were parrots being taken home by the sailors, 
which shrieked their opinions noisily; and there 
were numerous monkeys, which gambolled in mis- 
chievous fun, or sat still, the embodiment of ludi- 
crous despair : while, intermingling with the general 
noise could be heard the rattle of the paying-out 
wheels, as the cable passed with solemn dignity and 
unvarying persistency over the stern into the sea. 
It seemed almost unheeded, so perfect and self- 
acting was the machinery ; but it was, never- 
theless, watched by keen sleepless eyes — as the 
mouse is watched by the cat — night and day. 

The perfection not only achieved but expected, 
was somewhat absurdly brought out by the elec- 
trician in the cable-house at Bombay, who one day 
complained to the operators on board the Great 
Eastern that the reply to one of his questions had 
been from three to twelve seconds late ! It must 
be understood, however, that although the testing 
of the cable went on continuously during the whole 
voyage, the sending of messages was not frequent, 
as that interfered with the general work. Accord- 
ingly, communication with the shore was limited to 
a daily statement from the ship of her position at 
noon, and to the acknowledgment of the same by 
the electrician at Bombay. 

One of the greatest dangers in paying out consists 



360 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



in changing from tank to tank when one is emptied, 
and a Ml one has to be commenced. This was 
always an occasion of great interest and anxiety. 

About midnight of the 19th the change to the 
fore-tank was made, and nearly every soul in the 
ship turned out to see it. The moon was partially 
obscured, but darkness was made visible by a 
row of lanterns hung at short intervals along the 
trough through which the cable was to be passed, 
making the ship look inconceivably long. As 
Eobin Wright hurried along the deck he observed 
that both port and starboard watches were on duty, 
hid in the deep shadow of the wheels, or standing 
by the bulwark, ready for action. Traversing the 
entire length of the deck — past the houses of the 
sheep and pigs ; past the great life-boats ; past the 
half-closed door of the testing-room, where the 
operators maintained their unceasing watch in a 
flood oi light ; past the captain's cabin, a species 
of land- mark or half-way house ; past a group of 
cows and goats lying on the deck chewing the cud 
peacefully, and past offices and deck-cabins too 
numerous to mention, — he came at last to the fore- 
tank, which was so full of cable that the hands 
ready to act, and standing on the upper coil, had 
to stoop to save their heads from the deck 
above. 

The after-tank, on the contrary, was by that time 



fJ'HE LAST COIL.— Psige 8fil. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 361 



a huge yawning pit, twenty-five feet deep, lighted 
by numerous swinging lamps like a subterranean 
church, with its hands, like Lilliputians, attending 
to the last coil of the cable. That coil or layer was 
full four miles long, but it would soon run out, 
therefore all was in readiness. The captain was 
giving directions in a low voice, and seeing that 
every one was in his place. The chiefs of the 
engineers and electricians were on the alert. Every 
few minutes a deep voice from below announced 
the number of " turns " before the last one. At 
last the operation was successfully accomplished 
and the danger past, and the cable was soon run- 
ning out from the fore-tank as smoothly as it had 
run out of the other. 

The tendency of one flake or coil of cable to 
stick to the coil immediately below, and produce a 
wild irremediable entanglement before the ship 
could be stopped, was another danger, but these and 
all other mishaps of a serious nature were escaped, 
and the unusually prosperous voyage was brought 
to a close on the 27th of February, when the Great 
Eastern reached Aden in a gale of wind — as if to 
remind the cable-layers of what might have been 
— and the cable was cut and buoyed in forty 
fathoms water. 

The continuation of the cable up the Eed Sea, 
the successful termination of the great enter- 



362 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



prise, and the start of our hero and his com- 
panions for Old England after their work was done, 
we must unwillingly leave to the reader's imagina- 
tion. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



363 



CHAPTEE XXIX. 

UNCLE RIK'S ADVENTUBES. 

Uncle Eik seated in Mr. Wright's drawing- 
room ; Mr. Wright in an easy-chair near the 
window ; Mrs. Wright — with much of the lustre 
gone out of her fine eyes — lying languidly on the 
sofa; Madge Mayland at work on some incompre- 
hensible piece of netting beside her aunt, — all in 
deep mourning. 

Uncle Rik has just opened a telegram,, at which 
he stares, open eyed and mouthed, without speak- 
ing, while his ruddy cheeks grow pale. 

" Not bad news, I trust, brother," said poor Mrs. 
Wright, to whom the worst news had been con- 
veyed when she heard of the wreck of the Triton. 
Nothing could exceed that, she felt, in bitterness. 

"What is it, Eik?" said Mr. Wright, anxiously. 

" Oh ! nothing — nothing. That is to say, not bad 
news, certainly, but amazing news. Boh ! I 'm a 
fool." 

He stopped short after this complimentary asser- 



364 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



tion, for uncle Eik had somewliere read or lieard 
that joy can kill, and he feared to become an ac- 
complice in a murder. 

" Come, Eik, don't keep us in suspense," said his 
brother, rising ; " something has happened." 

" 0 yes, something has indeed happened," cried 
Eik, for this telegram is from Sam Shipton." 

" Then Eobin is alive ! " cried Mrs. Wright, leap- 
ing up, while Madge turned perfectly white. 

" N'o— that is to say— yes — it may be so — of 
course must be so — for, — bah ! what an ass I am 1 
Listen." 

He proceeded to read Sam's telegram, while Mrs. 
Wright covered her face with her hands and sank 
trembling on the sofa. 

The telegram having suffered rather severe muti- 
lation at the hands of the foreigners by whom it 
was transmitted, conveyed a very confusing idea of 
the facts that were intended, but the puzzling over 
it by the whole party, and the gradual, though not 
perfect, elucidation of its meaning, had perhaps the 
effect of softening the joyful intelligence to a bear- 
able extent. 

" Now," said uncle Eik, while the perspiration of 
mental effort and anxiety stood on his bald fore- 
head, " this is the outcome of it all. Sam clearly 
says * all well,' which means, of course, that Eobin 
is alive — thank God for that. Then he refers to a 



0 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 365 

previous telegram, which, of course, must be lost, 
for it hasn't come to hand. Bah ! I wonder the 
nasty things ever do come to hand. Anyhow, that 
telegram must have been meant to announce their 
safe arrival at Bombay, undoubtedly." 

" Of course — I see it now," said Mrs. Wright, with 
a deep sigh. 

" Of course," echoed Eik. " Then there 's some 
queer reference to a ship and a Fiery Queen, and a 
Stamps and a Shunks, and a Gibson, and a thief, 
and three bags, and the port of Loudon, which of 
course means London* and a public-house named, 
apparently, Torture — " 

" Tartar, I think, uncle," said Madge. 

" Well, Tartar if you like, it 's much the same 
if you catch him. And it winds up with a girl 
— which is not surprisin' — who is to be expec- 
torated — " 

" Expected, surely," said Madge, with a rather 
hysterical laugh, for the conflicting feelings within 
her tended rather to tears. 

" So be it, Madge — expected, with an unreadable 
name beginning with an L, — and that 's all ; and a 
pretty penny he must have paid to send us such a 
lot o' rubbish." 

" It has brought the oil of gladness to our hearts, 
brother," said Mr. Wright, " and is w^orth its cost. 
But, now, what do you intend to do ?" 



t 



366 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

" Do !" exclaimed Eik, who was never happier than 
when he could explode his feelings in action. " I '11 
go this moment to the port of London, find out 
the owners of the Fiery Queen, make particular 
inquiries about the Stampses, Shunkses, and Gibsons, 
visit Torture public-houses — though they 're all that, 
more or less — and see if I can hear anything about 
girls to be expectorated, with names beginning with 
L. There — these are my sailing directions, so — up 
anchor and away !" 

Uncle Eik immediately obeyed his own commands, 
and spent the remainder of that day in what he 
styled cruising. And he cruised to some pur- 
pose, for although he failed to obtain any informa- 
tion as to the girl, he discovered the owners of the 
Fairy — not Fiery — Queen, who said that she was 
expected home in a few weeks, but that they knew 
nothing whatever about the rather remarkable names 
which he submitted for their consideration. With 
this amount of information he w^as fain to rest 
content, and returned in an elevated state of mind 
to his brother's house. 

Some weeks after these events, the Wright family 
was again seated round the social board, as uncle 
Eik called it, when two visitors were announced. 
The social meal happening to be tea, and the draw- 
ing-room at that time in dishabille, owing to carpet 
disturbances, the visitors were shown into the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



367 



dining-room — a lady, accompanied by a pretty little 
girl 

" Excuse my calling at an unusual hour," said the 
lady, " but I trust the occasion of my visit will be a 
sufficient excuse. I have just arrived from Bombay, 
and hasten to present a letter from your son, and to 
deliver over my interesting charge, this dear child, 
Letta Langley, whom — " 

"The expectorated girl!" shouted uncle Eik, 
leaping up, "begins with an L, — two L's indeed. 
Bah, I 'm an idiot ! Excuse my excitement, madam 
— pray go on." 

Slightly surprised, but more amused, the lady 
went on to tell all she knew about Eobin and his 
friends, v/hile the happy mother read snatches of 
Eobin's letter through her tears, and Mr. Wright and 
Madge plied the lady with questions and tea, and 
Letta, taking at once to uncle Eik, ecstatified, amazed 
and horrified that retired sea-captain with her 
charming earnest little ways, her wonderful ex- 
periences, and her intimate acquaintance with 
pirates and their habits. 

A letter from Eobin to his mother, and another 
from Sam to Mr. Wright, arrived next morning, and 
proved to be those which had been written imme- 
diately after their landing at Bombay, and had been 
posted, so the writers thought, at the time their first 
telegram was despatched. But the letters had been 



368 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



given to Stumps to post, and Stumps was not blessed 
with a good memory, which may account for the 
delay in transmission. These letters corroborated all 
the lady had said. Thus was Letta formally installed 
in the Wright family, and uncle Eik solemnly 
charged himself with the discovery of her mother ! 

"Depend upon it, my dear," he said, with an 
amount of self-sufficient assurance and indomitable 
resolution that carried sweet consolation to the child's 
heart, " that 1 11 find your mother if she 's above 
ground, though the findin' of her should cost me the 
whole of my fortune and the remainder of my life." 

And nobly did Eik redeem his promise. He 
obtained special introduction to the British Museum, 
consulted every Directory in existence, hunted up 
every widow of the name of Langley in the king- 
dom, and found the right one at last, not three miles 
distant from his own door in London. Captain Eik, 
it must be known, had a room in London furnished 
like a cabin, which he was wont to refer to as his 
"ship" and his "bunk," but he paid that retreat 
only occasional visits, finding it more agreeable to 
live with his brother. 

It was a fine Sabbath morning when Eik took 
Letta's hand and led her into the presence of her 
mother. He would not let himself be announced, 
but pushed the child into the drawing-room and 
shut the door. 



THE BATTEiiY AND THE BOILEE. 



369 



With similar delicacy of feeling we now draw a 
curtain over the meeting of the mother and the 
long-lost child. 

" It 's almost too much for me, tough old sea-dog 
though I am, this perpetual cruisin' about after 
strange runaway craft," said uncle Eik, as he and 
Letta walked hand in hand along the streets one 
day some weeks later. " Here have I been beatin' 
about for I don't know how long, and I 'm only in 
the middle of it yet. We expect the Fairy Queen 
in port to-night or to-morrow." 

" But you won't hurt poor Stumps when you 
catch him, will you ?" pleaded Letta, looking ear- 
nestly up into her companion's jovial face. " He was 
very nice and kind to me, you know, on Pirate 
Island." 

" No, I '11 not hurt him, little old woman," said 
Ptik. " Indeed, I don't know yet for certain that 
Stumps is a thief ; it may be Shunks or it may be 
Gibson, you see, who is the thief. However, we '11 
find out before long. Now then, good-bye, I '11 be 
back soon." 

He shook hands with Letta at Mr. Wright's house, 
she and her mother having agreed to reside there 
until Eobin's return home. 

Wending his way through the streets until he 
reached one of the great arteries of the metropolis, 
he got into a 'bus and soon found himself on the 

2 A 



370 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



banks of the Thames. Arrived at the docks, one of 
the first vessels his eyes fell on was the Fairy Queen, 

Going on board, the first man he met was the 
captain, to whom he said, touching his hat — 

" Excuse me, captain ; may I ask if you have a 
nan in your crew named Stumps ? " 

" 'No, sir, no such name on my books." 

" Nor one named Shunks ?" 

" No, not even Shunks," replied the captain, with 
a sternly-humorous look, as if he thought the visitor 
were jesting. 

" Nor Gibson ?" continued Eik. 

"Yes, IVe got one named Gibson. What d'ye 
want with him ? " 

" Well, I have reason to believe that he is — or 
was — a friend of a friend of mine, and I should like 
to see him." 

" Oh ! indeed," responded the captain, regarding 
his visitor with a doubtful look. " Well, Gibson 
has just got leave to go ashore, and I heard him 
say to one of his mates he was going to the Tartar 
public-house, so you '11 see him there, probably, for 
he is not invisible or'narily. But I don't know 
where the Tartar is." 

" But I know," returned Captain Eik ; " thank 
you. I '11 go seek him there." 

Stumps sat alone in one of the boxes of the 
Tartar public-house, which at that hour chanced to 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



371 



be nearly empty. His face was buried in Lis hands, 
and a pot of nntasted beer stood at liis elbow. 
Poor Stumps ! Conscience had been remarkably 
busy with him on the voyage home. He would 
have given worlds to have got back to Bombay, 
return the ill-gotten bags, and confess his guilt, but 
it was too late — too late ! 

There is something very awful in these words, too 
late ! We read of and hear them often, and we use 
them sometimes, lightly it may be, but it is only 
when they can be used by ourselves with reference 
to something very serious, that we have a glimmer- 
ing of their terrible significance. There is a proverb, 
" It is never too late to mend," which is misleading. 
When the dream of life is over, and the doom is 
fixed, it is too late to mend. No doubt the proverb 
is meant to refer to our condition while this life 
lasts, but even here it is misleading. When the 
murderer withdraws the knife and gazes, it may 
be, horror-struck at the expressionless face of his 
victim, it is too late. He cannot mend the severed 
thread of life. When the reckless drunkard draws 
near the end of his career, and looks in the mirror, 
and starts to see the wreck of his former self, it is 
too late. Health will never more return. JSTot too 
late, blessed be God, for the salvation of the soul, 
but too late for the recovery of all that was held 
dear in the life of earth. 



372 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



Yes, Stumps had many a time while on the sea 
muttered to himself, " Too late ! " He did so once 
again in that low public-house near the docks. 
Uncle Eik overheard him, and a feeling of profound 
pity arose within him. 

"I beg pardon," he said, and at the first word 
Stumps looked quickly, almost fiercely, up, "your 
name, I believe, is Gibson." 

" ISTo, it isn't— I, that is to say — Well, yes it is. 
Sailors has got aliases, you know, sometimes. 
What d' ye want wi' me ? " 

"You were acquainted in Bombay," resumed 
Captain Wright, very quietly, as he sat down 
opposite to Stumps, "with a young man named 
Wright— Eobin Wright ? " 

Stumps's face became deadly pale. 

" Ah ! I see you were," resumed the captain ; 
" and you and he had something to do, now, with 
bags of some sort ? " 

The captain was, as the reader knows, pro- 
foundly ignorant of everything connected with the 
bags except their existence, but he had his sus- 
picions, and thought this a rather knowing way of 
inducing Stumps to commit himself. His surprise, 
then, may be imagined when Stumps, instead of 
replying, leaped up and dashed wildly out of the 
room, overturning the pot of beer upon Captain 
Rik's legs. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 373 

Stumps shot like an arrow past the landlord, a 
retired pugilist, who chanced to be in the doorway. 
Captain Rik, recovering, darted after him, but was 
arrested by the landlord. 

" Not quite so fast, old gen'l'man ! As you Ve 
had some of your mate's beer, you 'd better pay for 
it." 

" Let me go ! — stop him ! " cried the captain, 
struggling. 

As well might he have struggled in the grasp of 
Hercules. His reason asserted itself the instant the 
fugitive was out of sight. He silently paid for the 
beer, went back to the Fairy Queen to inform the 
captain that his man Gibson was a thief — to which 
the captain replied that it was very probable, but that 
it was no business of his — and then wandered sadly 
back to tell the Wright family how Gibson, alias 
Stumps, alias Shunks, had been found and lost. 



374 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



CHAPTEE XXX. 

THE WRIGHT FAMIM REUNITED, AND SAM BECOMES HIGHLY 

ELECTRICAL. 

That much-abused and oft-neglected meal called 
tea had always been a scene of great festivity and 
good-fellowship in the Wright family. Circum- 
stances, uncontrollable of course, had from the 
beginning necessitated a dinner at one o'clock, so 
that they assembled round the family board at six 
each even 'ng, in a hungry and happy frame of body 
and mind (which late diners would envy if they 
understood it), with the prospect of an evening — not 
bed — before them. 

In the earlier years of the family, the meal had 
been, so to speak, a riotous one, for both Eobin 
and Madge had uncontrollable spirits, with ten- 
dencies to drop spoons on the floor, and overturn 
jugs of milk on the table. Later on, the meal 
became a jolly one, and, still later, a chatty one — 
especially after uncle Eik and cousin Sam began 
to be frequent guests. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



375 



But never in all the experience of the family 
had the favourite meal been so jolly, so prolific of 
spoony and porcelain accidents, so chatty, and so 
generally riotous, as it was on a certain evening in 
June of the year 1870, shortly after the return 
home of Eobin and his companions. 

Besides the original Wright family, consisting of 
father, mother, Eobin, and Madge, there were assem- 
bled uncle Eik, Sam Shipton, Mrs. Langley, Letta, 
and — no — not Jim Slagg. The circle was unavoid- 
ably incomplete, for Jim had a mother, and Jim had 
said with indignant emphasis, "did they suppose 
all the teas an' dinners an' suppers, to say nothin' 
o' breakfasts, an' messmates an' chums an' friends, 
crammed and jammed into one enormous mass o' 
temptation, would indooce him to delay his return 
to that old lady for the smallest fraction of an 
hour ? " No, Jim Slagg was not at the table, but 
the household cat was under it, and the demoral- 
ising attentions that creature received on that 
occasion went far to undo the careful training of 
previous years. 

The occasion of the gathering was not simple. 
It was compound. First, it was in commemoration 
of Eobin's birthday ; second, it was to celebrate the 
appointment of Sam Shipton to an influential posi- 
tion on the electrical staff of the Telegraph Con- 
struction and Maintenance Company, also Sam's 



376 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



engagement to Marjory Maylaud ; third, to cele- 
brate the appointment of Eobin Wright to a 
sufficiently lucrative and hopeful post under Sam ; 
and, lastly, to enjoy the passing hour. 

" Ladies and gentlemen," said uncle Eik, getting 
on his feet with some difficulty, when the tea, 
toast, muffins, eggs, and other fare had blunted the 
appetites, " I rise to propose the toast of the even- 
ing, and mark you, I don't mean to use any butter 
with this toast {Hear, from Sam) unless I 'm egged 
on {Oil !) to do it — so I charge you to charge your 
cups with tea, since we 're not allowed grog in this 
tee-total ship — though I'm free to confess that I 
go in with you there, for I 've long since given up 
the use o' that pernicious though pleasant beverage, 
taldn' it always neat, now, in the form of cold 
water, varied occasionally with hot tea and coffee. 
My toast, ladies and gentlemen, is Eob — (Eik 
put his hand to his throat to ease off his neck- 
tie) is Eobin Wright, whom I 've known, off an' on, 
as a babby, boy, an' man, almost ever since that 
night — now twenty years ago, more or less — when 
he was launched upon the sea in thunder, lightning, 
and in rain, I've known him, I say — ever since 
— off an' on — and I 'm bound to say that — " 

The captain paused. He had meant to be 
funny, but the occasion proved too much for him. 

" Bless you, Eobin, my lad," he gasped, suddefnly 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



377 



stretching his large hand across the table and 
grasping that of his nephew, which was quickly 
extended. After shaking it with intense vigour he 
sat promptly down and blew his nose. 

The thunders of applause which burst from Sam 
and Mr. Wright w^ere joined in even by the ladies, 
who, in the excess of their sympathy, made use of 
knife-handles and spoons with such manly vigour 
that several pieces of crockery went " by the 
board," as the captain himself remarked, and the 
household cat became positively electrified and 
negatively mad, inasmuch as it was repelled by 
the horrors around, and denied itself the remaining 
pleasure of the tea-table by flying wildly from the 
room. 

Of course, Eobin attempted a re^^ly, but was 
equally unsuccessful in expressing his real senti- 
ments, or the true state of his feelings, but uncle 
Eik came to the rescue by turning sharply on Sam 
and demanding — 

" Do you really mean to tell me, sir, that, after 
all your experience, you still believe in telegraphs 
and steamboats ?" 

Sam promptly asserted that he really did mean 
that. 

" Of course," returned the captain, " you can't 
help believing in their existence— for facts are facts 
—but are you so soft, so unphilosophical, so idiotical 



378 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER, 



,as to believe in their continuance? That's the 
point, lad— their continuance. Are you not aware 
that, in course o' time, rust they must — " 

An' then they '11 bu'st," interpolated Kobin. 

" Hee ! hee ! ha !" giggled Letta, who, during all 
this time, had been gazing with sparkling eyes and 
parted lips, from one speaker to another, utterly 
forgetful of, and therefore thoroughly enjoying, her 
own existence. 

" Yes, then they '11 bu'st," repeated Eik, with an 
approving nod at Eobin ; ^' you 're right, my boy, and 
the sooner they do it the better, for I 'm quite sick 
of their flashings and crashings." 

" I rather suspect, Sam," said Mr. Wright, " that 
the gentlemen with whom you dined the other day 
would not agree with uncle Eik." 

"Whom do you refer to, George?" asked Mrs. 
Wright. 

" Has he not yet told you of the grand ' inaugural 
fete,' as they call it, that was given at the house 
of Mr. Pender, chairman of the Telegraph Con- 
struction and Maintenance Company, to celebrate 
the opening of direct submarine telegraphic com- 
munication with India ?" 

"ISTot a word," replied Mrs. Wright, looking at 
Sam. 

"You never mentioned it to me," said Madge, 
with a reproachful glance in the same direction. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



379 



"Because, Madge, we have been so busy in 
talking about something else," said Sam, "that I 
really forgot all about it." 

"Do tell us about it now," said Mrs. Langley, 
who, like her daughter, had been listening in silence 
up to this point, 

"A deal o' rubbish was spoken, I daresay," ob- 
served the captain, commencing to another muffin, 
and demanding more tea. 

" A deal of something was spoken, at all events," 
said Sam, " and what is more to the point, an amazing 
deal was done. Come, before speaking about it, 
let me propose a toast — Success to Batteries and 
Boilers!" 

" Amen to that !" said Eobin, with enthusiasm. 
" If they deserve it," said the captain, with 
caution. 

The toast having been drunk with all the honours, 
Sam began by saying that the f^.te was a great 
occasion, and included brilliant company. 

" There were present, of course," he said, " nearly 
all the great electrical and engineering lights of the 
day, also the Prince of Wales and the Duke of 
Cambridge, with a lot of aristocrats, whom it is not 
necessary to mention in the presence of a democratic 
sea-dog like uncle Eik." 

"Don't yaw about to defame me, but keep to 
your course, Sam." 



380 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



"Well, you have no idea what an amount of 
interest and enthusiasm the affair created. You all 
know, of course, that the Indian cable, which Eobin 
and .1 had a hand in laying, is now connected with 
the tines that pass between Suez, Alexandria, Malta, 
Gibraltar, Lisbon, and England ; and the company 
assembled at Mr. Pender's house witnessed the 
sending of the first messages direct from London to 
Bombay ; and how long, do you think, it took to 
send the first message, and receive a reply ? — only 
five minutes !" 

" You don't mean it, Sam !" exclaimed Eik, getting 
excited, in spite of his professed unbelief. 

"Indeed I do," replied Sam, wacrming with his 
subject. " I tell you the sober truth, however difficult 
it may be for you to believe it. You may see it in 
the papers of the 24th or 25th, I suppose. Here is 
my note-book, in which I jotted down the most 
interesting points. 

" The proceedings of the evening were opened by 
the managing director in London sending a telegram 
to the manager at Bombay. 

Hoiv are you allV was the brief telegram 
by Sir James Anderson. ^ All ivell* was the 
briefer first reply from Bombay. The question 
fled from London at 9.18 exactly — I had my watch 
in my liand at the time — and the answer came back 
at 9.23 — just five minutes. I can tell you it was 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



381 



hard to believe that the whole thing was not a 
practical joke. In fact, the message and reply were 
almost instantaneous, the live minutes being chiefly- 
occupied in manipulating the instruments at either 
end. The second message between the same parties 
occupied the same time. After that Sir Bartle 
Frere sent a telegram to Sir Seymour Fitzgerald, the 
Governor of Bombay, as follows : — 'Sir BoMh Frere 
wishes health and ^rosgoerity to all old friends in 
Bomlay' This was received by the Company's 
superintendent at Bombay, and the acknowledg- 
ment of its receipt sent back in four minutes and 
hfty seconds ! But the reply from the Governor, 
' Your old friend returns your good ivishes' did not 
come to us for thirty --six minutes, because the mes- 
sage had to be sent to the Governor's house, and it 
found his Excellency in bed. 

"Next, a message was sent by Lady Mayo in 
London to Lord Mayo a.t Simla, which, with the 
acknowledgment of it, occupied 15 minutes in trans- 
mission. Of course time was lost in some cases, 
because the persons telegraphed to were not on the 
spot at the moment. The Prince of Wales tele- 
graphed to tlie Viceroy of India, ' 1 congratulate 
your Excellency on England and India heing noio 
connected hy a suhmarine caUe, I feel assured this 
grand achievement will prove of immense benefit to 
the welfare of the Empire. Its success is thus matter 



382 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 



of imperial interest' which telegram passed out, 
and the acknowledgment of its receipt in India was 
returned to London, all within eleven minutes, but, 
as in the former case, the Viceroy was in bed, so that 
his reply was not received till forty-five minutes had 
elapsed. Had the Viceroy been at the Indian end of 
the wire, he and the Prince could have conversed 
at an average rate of five minutes a sentence. 

" Many other messages were sent to and fro," 
continued Sam, turning over the leaves of his note- 
book, " not only from London to India, but to each 
of the intermediate stations on the cable line, so 
that we had direct intercourse that night with 
the King of Portugal, the Governors of Gibraltar, 
Malta, and Aden, and the Khedive of Egypt. But 
that was not all. We put the old and the new 
world into communication, so that the ' press of 
India sent salam to the press of America.' Sir 
James Anderson also telegraphed to Cyrus W. Field, 
Esq., the father of submarine telegraphy in my 
estimation {Hear, hear, from Eobin), and he sent a 
reply, w^hich began, ' Your message of this evening 
received hy me before five dcloch this afternoon! 
Mark that, Captain Eik, the message received 
before it was sent, so to speak !" 

" Ay, ay, lad — I know — difference of longitude, 
- — fire away." 

" Well, I have fired away most of my ammunition 



THE B:\.TTEliY AND THE BOILER 



383 



now," returned Sam, and if you don't haul down 
your colours, it must be because you have nailed 
them to the mast and are blind to reason. I may 
add, however, that the Viceroy of India sent a 
telegram to the President of the United States, to 
which he got a reply in seven hours and forty 
minutes, but the slowness of this message was 
accounted for by the fact of accidental and partly 
unavoidable delay in transmission both in Washing- 
ton and London. At 1.30 a.m. of the 24th the traffic 
of the line became pressing, and all complimentary 
messages ceased with one from Bombay, which 
said, ' Sun just risen ; delightfully cool ; raining.' " 

" Doesn't it seem as if the Baron Monkhausen's 
tales were possible after all ?" remarked Mrs. Wright, 
looking as if her mind had got slightly confused. 

" The Baron's tales are mere child's-play, mother," 
said Eobin, " to the grand facts of electricity." 

" That 's so, Eobin," said Sam, still turning over 
the leaves of his note-book, "and we had some 
magnificent experiments or illustrations at the f^te, 
v/hich go far to prove the truth of your remark — 
experiments which were so beautiful that they 
would have made the eyes of Letta sparkle even 
more gorgeously than they are doing at present, if 
she had seen them." 

Letta blushed, returned to self -Consciousness for 
a moment, looked down, laughed, looked up as 



384 



THE BATTEilY AND THE BOILEE. 



Sam proceeded, and soon again forgot herself in a 
fixed and earnest gaze. 

" The two telegraph instruments communicating 
with India and America, which stood on two tables, 
side by side, in Mr. Pender's house, were supplied 
by two batteries in the basement of the building. 
Eighty cells of Daniel's battery were used upon the 
Penzance circuit for India, and 100 cells on the 
Brest circuit for America. The ordinary water- 
pipes of the house served to connect the batteries 
with the earth, so as to enable them to pump their 
electricity from that inexhaustible reservoir." 

" I was not aware that electricity had to be 
pumped up through pipes like water," interrupted 
Mrs. "Wright, on whose mild countenance a complica- 
tion of puzzled expressions was gradually gathering. 

" It is not so pumped up," said Sam. " The pipes 
were used, not because they were pipes, but because 
they were metal, and therefore good conductors." 

"But you haven't told us about the beautiful 
experiments yet," murmured Letta, a little im- 
patiently. 

" I 'm coming to them, little one," said Sam. 
" One battery exhibited the power as well as the 
beauty of that mysterious force which we call 
electricity. It was the large Grove battery. A 
current passed from it to copper wires, in a certain 
manner, produced a dazzling green light, and the 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



385 



copper melted like wax. With silver a still 
brighter and purer green flame was the result. 
With platinum an intense white light was given 
off, and the molten metal fell in globules of exceed- 
ing brilliancy. With iron lovely coruscations were 
exhibited, the boiling vapour flying and burning in 
all directions; and a platinum wire three feet long 
was in an instant melted into thousands of minute 
globules. All this showed the power of electricity 
to produce intense heat when resistance is opposed 
to its passage." 

"It is remarkably human-like in that respect," 
said Captain Eik, in an under-tone. 

"Then its power to produce magnetism," con- 
tinued Sam, "was shown by Lord Lindsay's huge 
electro-magnet. This magnet, you must know, is 
nothing but a bit of ordinary metal until it is elec- 
trified, when it becomes a most powerful magnet. But 
the instant the current is cut off from it, it ceases 
to be a magnet. If you understood much about 
electricity," said Sam, looking round on his rapt 
audience, "I might tell you that it is upon this 
power of making a piece of iron a magnet or not 
at pleasure that depend the Morse and Digne 
telegraph instruments ; but as you don't under- 
stand, I won't perplex you further. Well, when 
a piece of sheet copper was passed between the 
poles of Lord Lindsay's giant magnet, it was aa 

3 B 



386 THE BATTEBY AND THE BOILER. 

difficult to move as if it had been sticking in 
cheese — though it was in reality touching 
nothing ! — influenced only by attraction. That 
beats your power over Sam, Madge/ whispered 
Eobin. ' Ko it doesn't/ whispered Madge in reply.) 
Then, one most beautiful experiment I could not 
hope to get you to understand, but its result was, 
that a ten-gallon glass jar, coated inside and out 
wi^h perforated squares of tinfoil, was filled with 
tens of thousands of brilliant sparks, which produced 
so much noise as completely to drown the voices 
of those who described the experiment. A know- 
ledge of these and other deep things, and of the 
laws that govern them, has enabled Sir William 
Thomson and Mr. Cromwell F. Varley to expedite 
the transmission of messages through very long 
submarine cables in an enormous degree. Then 
the aurora borealis was illustrated by a large long 
exhausted tube — " 

" I say, Sam," interrupted Eik, " don't you think 
there 's just a possibility of our becoming a large 
long-exhausted company if you don't bring this 
interesting lecture to a close ?" 

" Shame ! shame ! uncle Eik," cried Eobin, 

As the rest of the company sided with him, the 
captain had to give way, and Sam went on. 

" I won't try your patience much longer ; in 
fact I have nearly come to an end. In this long 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



387 



exhausted tube, ten feet in length and three 
inches in diameter, a brilliant and beautiful 
crimson stream was produced, by means of an 
induction coil. In short, the occasion and the 
proceedings altogether made it the most interesting 
evening I have ever spent in my life, e— except — " 
Sam paused abruptly, and looked at Madge. 
Madge blushed and looked down under the table, — 
presumably for the cat, — and the rest of the com- 
pany burst into an uproarious fit of laughter, in 
which condition we will leave them and convey 
the reader to a very different though not less 
interesting scene. 



388 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



CHAPTEE XXXI. 

DESCRIBES A HAPPY HOME AND A HAPPIER MEETIxa. 

In a small wayside cottage in the outskirts of 
one of those picturesque villages which surround 
London, an old woman sat at the head of a small 
deal table, with a black teapot, a brown sugar-basin, 
a yellow milk jug, and a cracked tea-cup before her. 

At the foot of the same table sat a young man, 
with a large knife in one hand, a huge loaf of 
bread in the other, and a mass of yellow butter in 
a blue plate in front of him. 

The young man was James Slagg ; the old woman 
was his mother. Jim had no brothers or sisters, 
and his father chanced to be absent at market, so 
he had the " old lady " all to himself. 

" Well, well, Jim," said Mrs. Slagg, with a loving 
look at her son's flushed face, "you've told me a 
heap o' wonderful tales about telegrumphs, an' 
tigers, an' electrocity an' what not. If you was 
as great a Mar as you was used to be, Jim, I tell 'ee 
plain, lad, I wouldn't believe one word on it. But 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 389 

you're a better boy tliaii you was, Jim, an' I do 
believe you — indeed I do, though I must confess 
that some on it is hard to swallow." 

" Thank 'ee, mother," said Jim, with a pleasant 
nod, as he cut an enormous slice from the loaf, 
trowelled upon it a mass of the yellow butter, and 
pushed in his cup for more tea. 

" It was good of ye, Jim," said the old woman, 
" to leave all yer fine friends and come straiglit 
away here to see your mother." 

" Good o' me ! " ejaculated Jim, with his mouth 
full — too full we might say — " what goodness is 
there in a feller goin' home, eh ? Who 's finer, I 
should like to know, than a feller's mother ?" 

" Well, you are a good boy, Jim," said the old 
woman, glancing at a superannuated clock, which 
told of the moments in loud, almost absurd 
solemnity; "but if you don't stop talkin' and go 
on wi' your eatin', you '11 lose the train." 

" True, mother. Time and tide, they say, wait 
for no man ; but trains is wuss than time or tide, 
they won't even wait for a woman." 

" But why go at all to-day, Jim ; won't to-morrow 
do?" 

" J^o, mother, it won't do. I didn't mean to tell 
'ee till I came back, for fear it should be a mistake ; 
but I can't keep nothin' from you, old lady, so I 
may as well ease my mind before I go. The fact 



390 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEPw 



is, I Ve just heard of the whereabouts of John 
Shanks — Stumps, you know — my old mate, that 
I've told you bolted with all our treasure from 
Bombay. Ah ! mother, if I 'd only brought that 
treasure home wi' me, it 's a lady you 'd have bin 
to-day. I had all sorts o' plans for you — a coach 
an' six was — " 

" Never mind your plans, Jim, but tell me about 
poor Stumps." 

" Well, mother, a tramp came past here, an' had 
a bit of a talk wi' me yesterday. You know I 
ginerally have a bit of a chat wi' tramps now, ever 
since that city missionary — God bless him — pulled 
me up at the docks, an' began talkin' to me about 
my soul. Well, that tramp came here early this 
mornin', sayin' he 'd bin in a poor woman's house in 
the city, where there was a man dyin' in a corner. 
While he was talkin*. with some o' the people there 
he chanced to mention my name, an' observed that 
the dyin' man got excited when he heard it, and 
called to the tramp and asked him about me, and 
then begged him, for love and for money, which he 
offered him, to come and fetch me to him as fast as 
he could, sayin' that his name was Stumps, and he 
knew me. So, you see, as the next train is the 
first that — you needn't look at the clock so often, 
old lady ; it 's full ten minutes yet, and I '11 back 
niv le.cfs to do it in three." 



tHE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



391 



"Don't forget to take your Bible wi' you, dear 
hoy." 

Jim Slagg rose with a pleasant nod, slapped the 
breast of his coat, on which the oblong form of a 
small book in the pocket could be traced, said 
" Good-day, mother," and left the cottage. 

It was not long before he stood in the dark 
passage which led to the room described to him by 
the tramp. The old woman who rented it gave 
him her unasked opinion of her lodger before 
admitting him. 

"You've got no notion, sir, what a strange 
character that young man is." 

" 0 yes, I have ; let me see him," said Slagg. 

" But, sir," continued the landlady, detaining him, 
"you must be careful, for he ain't hisself quite. 
ISTot that he 's ever done anythink wiolent to me, 
poor young man, but he 's strong in his fits, an' he 
raves terribly." 

" Has no doctor bin to see him ? " asked Slagg. 

" IsO ; he won't let me send for one. He says 
it 's o' no use, an' he couldn't afford to pay for one. 
An' oh ! you 've no notion what a miser that poor 
young man is. He must have plenty of money, for 
the box as he takes it out on — an' it 's at his head 
he keeps it day and night, ginerally holdin' it with 
one hand — seems full o' money, for it 's wonderful 
heavy. I could see that when he brought it here, 



392 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



an' there 's no clo'es in it, that I can see, when he 
opens it, to get at the few pence he wants now 
an' again. An' he starves hisself, an' says he 's not 
fit to live, an' calls hisself sitch awful names, an' — " 

" Well, well, show me his room," said Slagg, with 
as much decision in his tone as compelled im- 
mediate obedience. 

In the corner of a small room, on a truckle-bed, 
with scant bedding, lay the emaciated form of John 
Shanks, alias Stumps, alias James Gibson. He 
had raised himself on one elbow, and was gazing 
with great lustrous invalid eyes at the door, when 
his old comrade entered, for he had been watch- 
ing, and heard the first sound of footsteps in the 
passage. 

" Oh ! Jim Slagg," he cried, extending a hand 
which bore strong resemblance to a claw, it was so 
thin. "Come to me, Jim. How I've wished an' 
longed, an' — " 

He stopped and burst into tears, for he was very 
weak, poor fellow, and even strong men weep when 
their strength is brought low. 

" Come now. Stumps," said Slagg, in a serious 
voice, as he sat down on the bed, put an arm round 
his old comrade's thin shoulders, and made him lie 
down, " if you go to excite yourself like that, I '11 — 
I'll — quit the room, an' I won't come back for a-n 
hour or more." 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



393 



" No ! 0 no ! " exclaimed the sick man, clutching 
Slagg's arm with a trembling grip, " don't leave me, 
Jim— don't, don't ! I shall die if you do ! I 'm 
dyin' anyhow, but it will kill me quicker if you 
go." 

" Well, I won't go. There, keep quiet, my poor 
old Stumps." 

" Yes, that 's it — that 's it-— I like to hear the old 
name," murmured the sick man, closing his eyes. 
" Say it again, Jim — say it again." 

" Stumps," said Slagg, getting down on his knees, 
the better to arrange and grasp his former comrade, 
" don't be a fool now, but listen. I have come to 
look after you, so make your mind easy." 

" But I 've been such a beast to you, Jim ; it was 
so awful shabby," cried Stumps, rousing himself 
again, " and I've been so sorry ever since. You can't 
think how sorry. I have repented, Jim, if ever a man 
did. An' I 'd have come back and confessed long 
ago, if I 'd had the chance, but I can get no rest — 
no peace. I 've never spent a rap of it, Jim, except 
what I couldn't help— for you know, Jim, body an' 
soul wouldn't stick together without a little o' 
suthin' to eat an' drink; an' when I was ill I 
couldn't w^ork, you know. See, it's all here— all 
here— except what little — " 

He stopped abruptly, having raised himself to 
open the lid of the box at his elbow, but his 



394 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



strength failed, and he sank on the pillow with a 
groan. 

"Stumps," said Slagg, "come, old boy, you an' 
me will have a bit of prayer together.'^ 

The sick man opened his great eyes in astonish- 
ment. It was so unlike his old friend's brusque 
rollicking character to propose prayer, that he 
fancied he must be dreaming, and the possibility of 
the visit turning out unreal, induced an expression 
of distress on his haggard countenance. On being 
ordered, however, in the peremptory and familiar 
tones of former days, to shut his eyes, he felt re- 
assured and became calm, while his friend prayed 
for him. 

It was not a set or formal prayer by any means. 
It sounded strangely like a man asking a friend, in 
commonplace terms, but very earnestly, to give him 
what he stood in great need of; and what Jim 
asked for was the salvation of his friend's soul and 
his restoration to health. The petition, therefore, 
was remarkably brief, yet full of reverence, for Jim, 
though naturally blunt and straightforward, felt 
that he was addressing the great and blessed God 
and Saviour, who had so recently rescued his own 
soul. 

After saying " Amen ! " which the sick man 
echoed, Slagg pulled out his Bible and read through 
the fourteenth chapter of John's gospel, commenting 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 395 

quietly as he went along, while his comrade listened 
with intense earnestness. At the first verse Jim 
paused and said, " This wasn't written to holy and 
sinless men. 'Let not your heart be troubled/ 
was said to the disciples, one o' them bein' Peter, 
the man who was to deny Jesus three times with 
oaths and curses, and then forsake Him. The Lord 
came to save sinners. It would be a poor look-out 
for you. Stumps, if you thought yourself a good 
man." 

" But I don't — oh ! I don't, and you hnow I don't!" 
exclaimed the sick man vehemently. 

" Then the Lord says, ' Let not, your heart be 
troubled,' and tells you to believe in God and Him- 
self" 

At the second verse Slagg remarked that it 
would be a sad sad thing if the mansion prepared, 
among the many mansions, for his friend v/ere to 
be left empty. 

" But how am I to get to it, Jim ; how am I ever 
to find the way ? " 

" Just what the discijple named Thomas asked — 
an' he was a very doubting follower of Jesus, like 
too many of us. The Master said to him what He 
says to you and me, ' I am the way and the truth 
and the life ; no one cometh unto the Father but 
by me.'" 

At the nirith verse the sailor- missionary said, 



396 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 

"Jesus is God, you see, so we're safe to trust 
Him," and, at the thirteenth verse, " Whatsoever ye 
shall ask in my name that will I do," he said. "Now, 
we have asked Jesus to save you, and He will do it, 
by His Holy Spirit, as He has saved me — has saved 
millions in time past, and will save millions more in 
time to come. Why, you see, in the sixteenth verse 
He tells you He will pray the Father to send you a 
Comforter, who will stay with you for ever. Has 
He not reason then for beginnin' with ' let not your 
heart be troubled'? And that same Comforter, 
the Holy Spirit, is to ' teach us all things,' so, you 
see, every difficulty is taken out of our way. ' Arise, 
let us go hence.' Now, my old messmate, I have 
arisen. Will you not arise and go with me, both of 
us looking unto Jesus ? " 

" I will — God helping me ! " cried the sick man, 
literally arising from his couch and raising both 
arms to heaven. 

" There, now — thank the Lord ; but you must lie 
down again and keep quiet," said Jim, gently and 
kindly forcing his friend backward. 

Stumps did not resist. He closed his eyes, and 
the restful feeling that had suddenly arisen in his 
heart when he said the momentous words, " / will^' 
coupled with exhaustion, resulted almost instan- 
taneously in a quiet slumber. 

" When did he eat last?" asked Slags of the old 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



397 



woman, in a low voice, for he had been taught, or 
had learned intuitively, that few things are more 
disheartening in a sick-room than a whisper. 

" This morning he bre^Hasted at six, but it was 
on'y a hap'orth o' bread and a drink o' cold water." 

"And how dare you starve your lodger in that 
way ? " demanded Slagg, leading the astonished 
woman into the passage and closing the door. 
" Don't you know that starving a man is equal to 
murdering him, and that you '11 be liable to be hung 
if he dies ? There, take this half-sov. and be off to 
the nearest shop, an' buy — let me see — sassengers 
and steaks and — oh, yoii, know better than me what 
a sick man wants. Get along with you, and be 
back sharp. Stay ! where are your matches ? Ah ! 
Any coals ? Good, now away with you and fetch a 
doctor too, else I '11 fetch a policeman, you bolster 
of bones." 

Thus ordered, threatened, and adjured, the land- 
lady, half-amused, and more than half-frightened at 
the visitor's gushing energy, hurried from the 
house, while Slagg returned to the miserable room, 
and did his best to render it less miserable by 
kindling a splendid fire. 

It is, perhaps, unnecessary to add, that a break- 
fast soon filled that room with delicious odour, such 
as had not been felt in that lowly neighbourhood 
for many years; that Stumps, after a refreshing 



398 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



sleep, partook of the feast with relish; that Jim 
Slagg also partook of it — of most of it, indeed — ^^and 
enjoyed it to the full ; that the old landlady was in- 
vited to "fall to," and did fall to with alacrity; that the 
domestic cat also managed to fall to, surreptitiously. 
Avithout invitation, and not the less enjoyably on 
that account ; that a miserable semi-featherless but 
unconquerable canary in a cage in the window 
took care that it was not forgotten ; and that several 
street boys, smelling the viands from afar, came 
round the outer door, became clamorous, and were 
not sent empty away. 

It may, however, be advisable to add, that Stumps 
did not die ; that joy of heart, good feeding, and 
— perhaps — the doctor, brought him round, and 
that he afterwards went to the country to spend 
the period of convalescence in the cottage by the 
roadside, with Slagg's mother. 



I 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



399 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

IN WHICH THE STORY FINDS A "FAULT," AND THE ELECTRICAL 

CURRENT ENDS. 

Now, it is not in the. nature of things that man, 
in his present state, should attain to full satisfac- 
tion. He may, indeed he should, attain to content- 
ment, but as long as there are higher and better 
things within his reach, he must of necessity 
remain in some degree unsatisfied. 

Some such idea must have been passing through 
Eobin Wright's brain one fine morning, as he slowly 
paced the deck of a small schooner with his friend 
Sam Shipton, for he suddenly broke a prolonged 
silence with the following remark : — 

I don't know how it is, Sam, but although I am 
surrounded with everything that should make a 
fellow happy, I 'm — I 'm not happy. In fact, I 'm 
as miserable as it is possible to be ! " 

" Come now, Eobin, don't exaggerate," said Sam 
in a remonstrative tone. "Hyperbole is very 
objectionable, especially in young men. You know 
that if you were tied to a huge gridiron over a slow 



400 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 



fire, you would be more miserable than you are at 
present." 

Eobin smiled and admitted the truth of this, but 
nevertheless reiterated his assertion that he was 
decidedly unhappy. 

This conversation, we may remark, took place on 
board of Sam Shipton's yacht, off the west coast of 
Scotland, several years after the events narrated in 
the previous chapter. 

"Well, now, it is strange," said Sam, with an 
earnestly sympathetic air and tone of voice, but 
with the faintest possible twinkle in the extreme 
corner of one of his eyes. "Let me see — everything, 
as you justly remark, ought to make you happy 
here. The weather, to begin with — people always 
begin with the weather, you know — is splendid, 
though there is a thundery look about the horizon 
to the west'ard. Then our yacht, the Gleam, is 
a perfect duck, both as to her sea-going and sailing 
qualities, and Captain James Slagg is a perfect 
seaman, while Stumps is a superlative steward and 
cook. Our time is our own, and the world before 
us where to choose. Then, as to our companion- 
ship, what female society could be more agreeable 
than that of my wife Madge, and her bosom friend 
Letta, who, since she has grown up, has become 
one of the most 'beautiful, fascinating, charming, — 
but why go on, when, in the language of the poet. 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEK. 



401 



' adequate words is wantin' ! ' And Letta's mother 
is second only to herself. Then as to the men, 
could there be found anywhere finer fellows than 
uncle Eik and Ebenezer Smithy and Frank Hedley 
■ — to say nothing of myself and our splendid little 
boy Sammy? I can't understand it, Eobin. You 're 
not ill, are you ? " 

" 111 ! no. Never was better in my life." 

" Well, then, what is it ? Be confidential, my 
boy. The witching hour of sunrise is fitted for 
confidential communications. You 're not in love, 
are — " 

" Hush, Sam ! the skylight is open. Come 
forward to the bows. Yes, Sam, I am in love." 

" Well, Robin, I can't pretend ignorance, for I 
know it — at least I have seen it." 

" Seen it ! " echoed Eobin, " how is that ? I have 
never by word or look given the slightest indication 
to any one of the state of my feelings." 

"True, Eobin, as regards words, but there are 
other modes of indication, as must be well known 
to a celebrated electrician like yourself. The fact 
is, my dear boy, that you and Letta have been 
rubbing your intellects toget^ier for so many years, 
that you have electrified each other — the one posi- 
tively, the other negatively ; and even a Manx cat 
with an absent mind and no tail could hardly fail 
to observe the telegraphic communication which 

2 0 



402 



THE BATTEllY AND THE BOILER. 



you have established by means of that admirable 
duplex instrument, a pair of eyes." ' 

" You distress me very much, Sam/' returned 
Eobin, seriously. " I assure you I have never con- 
sciously done anything of the sort, and I have 
never opened my lips to Letta on the subject — 
I dare not." 

" I believe you as to your consciousness ; but, to 
be serious, Eobin, why should being in love make 
you miserable ? " 

"Because it makes me doubt whether Letta cares 
for me." 

" E"onsense, Eobin. Take my advice, put an end 
to your doubts, and make sure of your ground by 
taking heart and proposing to Letta." 

" I dare not, Sam. It is all very well for a fine 
manly fellow like you to give such advice, but I am 
such a poor, miserable sort of — " 

"Hallo, fasser!" cried a merry voice at that 
moment, "how red de sun am !" 

The owner of the voice — a mere chip of a child, 
in perfect miniature middy costume — ran up to its 
father and was hoisted on his shoulder. 

" Yes, the sun is very red, like your own face, 
Sammy, my boy, to say nothing of cousin Eobin's. 
Where is mamma ?" 

The question was answered by mamma herself, our 
old friend Madge Mayland, coming up the com- 



THE BATTEIIY AND TllE BOILEK. 



403 



panioii hatch, — tall, dark, beautiful, like the spirit 
of departed night. She was followed by Letta, — 
graceful, fair, sunny, like the spirit of the coming 
morn. 

"Sunbeam, ahoy!" came up through the cabin 
skylight at that moment, like the sonorous voice of 
JSTeptune. 

".Well, grunkle Pdk, w'atis it ?" shouted Sammy, 
in silvery tones, from his father's shoulder. 

"Grunkle" was the outcome of various efforts made 
to teach Sammy to call the old captain grand- 
uncle. 

" Where have you stowed away my hair-brush, 
you rascal ?" cried the voice of thunder. 

" It 's under my bunk, grunkle ; I was bracking 
yous boots vith it." 

The thunder subsided in tempestuous mutterings, 
and Sammy, feeling that he had begun the day well, 
struggled out of his father's arms and went career- 
ing round the deck into every possible position of 
danger. He kept them all lively until Stumps 
caught him and extinguished him, for a time, with 
breakfast. 

"Uncle Eik," said Sam, while that meal w^as 
being discussed in the snuggest little cabin that 
could be imagined, "did you hear of the extra- 
ordinary manner in which a whale was caught by 
a telegraph cable lately?" 



404 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER, 

" N'o, I didn't, Sam, an' wliat 's more, I wouldn't 
believe it if I did." 

" It is true, nevertheless," said Sam, breaking his 
fifth egg — sea breezes being appetising. 

"How did it happen, Sam ?" asked Madge. 

"In a very curious manner, Madge. It will 
amuse Letta, for I know she takes a deep interest 
in cables." 

" Indeed it will," said Letta, who was the soul of 
earnest simplicity ; " I delight in electric cables." 

Piobin looked at Letta, and wished that he were 
an electric cable ! 

"It happened to the Persian Gulf cable, quite 
recently," continued Sam, addressing himself to 
Letta. " The cable between Kurrachee and Gwadur, 
a distance of 300 miles, suddenly failed one evening 
ISTow, you must know that electrical science has 
advanced with such rapid strides of late, that we 
have tlie power to discover pretty nearly the exact 
position of a fault in a cable. Of course I cannot 
expect a young lady to understand the technical 
details of the mode in which this is done, but you 
will understand that by tests taken at either end 
the damage appeared to be about 118 miles from 
Kurrachee, and a telegraph steamer was sent with 
an electrical and engineering staff to repair it. 
The steamer reached the supposed locality early on 
the morning of the second day out, and proceeded 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 405 



at once to grapple for the cable, though a thick fog 
prevailed at the time, and a heavy sea was running. 
The soundings at the place were very irregular, 
implying a rugged bottom of submarine mountain 
tops and valleys. On winding in the cable unusual 
resistance was experienced, as if it were foul of 
rocks, and when, after great difficulty, they drew it 
up they found that this was caused by the body of 
an immense whale, with two and a half turns of the 
cable round it immediately above the tail." 

"Pooh! boh!" exclaimed uncle Eik, "I don't 
believe it." 

" But I do, uncle," returned Sam, as he opened 
his sixth egg, "for I read the account of it in 
one of the engineering journals, in which dates and 
names were given. The steamer was the Amber 
Witch, commanded by Captain Bishop, and the staff 
of operators were under Mr. Harry Mance.. The 
body of the huge creature was found to be rapidly 
decomposing, the jaws falling away as it reached 
the surface, and sharks had evidently been devour- 
ing it. The tail, which measured twelve feet across, 
was covered with barnacles at the extremities." 

"But how could it have entangled itself so?" 
asked Mrs. Langley. 

"They suppose that at the time the whale had 
found a part of the cable hanging in a deep loop 
over a submarine precipice, and, thinking the chance 



406 THE BA-TTERY AND THE BOILER. 

a good one no doubt for scraping off the barnacles 
and other parasites that annoy whales very much, 
had probably twisted the cable round him with a 
flip of his tail. Anyhow, the fact is unquestionable 
that it held him fast until he was fished up dead by 
the electricians and engineers." 

"How strange !" murmured Letta. 

" It is indeed," responded Eobin, the most extra- 
ordinary case I ever heard of, though cables are 
subject to many singular accidents. I remember 
one case of accident to the cable across the river 
Yar, in the Isle of Wight. A bullock fell from 
the deck of a vessel, and, in its struggles, caught 
the cable and broke it." 

" I have read of several very singular cases," said 
Sam, "in which cables have been attacked and 
damaged by inhabitants of the sea. The Cuba and 
Florida cable was once damaged by the bite of some 
large fish, and a similar accident happened to the 
China cable. In the Malta-Alexandria cable, a 
piece of the core from which the sheathing had been 
worn was found to have been bitten by a shark, 
and pieces of the teeth were found sticking in the 
gutta-percha." 

" I thought it was to the Singa23ore cable that that 
happened," said Eobin. 

"ISTo, but something similar happened to it. That 
cable was laid in December. In the followin;^ 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILEE. 



407 



March a stoppage occurred. The fault was spotted 
at 200 miles from Singapore. When hauled up, 
the cable was found to have been pierced, and bits 
of crushed bone were sticking in the hole. The 
piece was cut out and sent to Mr. Frank Buckland, 
who, after long and careful examination, came to 
the conclusion that it had been the work of a 
saw-fish." 

Dear me, Mr. Shipton," said Mrs. Langley, " you 
speak as if every part of the world were connected 
by electric cables." 

"And such is the case," said Sam ; "we have now 
direct communication by submarine cable and land 
telegraph with every part of Europe ; with Canada 
and the United States ; down South America, nearly 
to Cape Horn ; with Africa from Algiers to the 
Cape of Good Hope ; with India from Afghanistan 
to Ceylon ; with China from Pekin to Hong-Kong ; 
and down through the Malacca Archipelago, Aus- 
tralia, and Tasmania." 

"I say, Sam, are you a member of the Eoyal 
Geographical Society, or a walking atlas?" asked 
uncle Eik. 

"In short," continued Sam, not heeding the in- 
terruption, " there isn't a civilised quarter of the 
globe which is not tied to us by telegraph, and 
from which we might not hear any morning of 
the events of the preceding day." 



408 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 



"Always excepting Central Africa and the two 
poles," said the captain. 

"I said civilised quarters," retorted Sam, "and, 
as far as I know, the poles are inhabited only by 
bears." 

" True, I forgot, the poles are barely civilised," 
said uncle Eik. 

"Kow, Master Sammy," growled a deep voice 
from the adjoining galley, "you keep your hands 
out o' that copper." 

" Fasser," shouted a silvery voice from the same 
region, " 'Tumps is naughty. I wants to wass my 
hands in de soup, an' he won't let me." 

" Quite right. Keep him in order, Stumps," said 
the unfeeling Sam, senior. 

"Dere — pa says. I 's kite right, an' to keep you 
in order, 'Tumps," said the silvery voice. (Then, 
after a few minutes), " Grunkle Eik, is you finish 
bekfist?" 

" Ay, ay. Sunbeam, quite finished." 

" Den come on deck an' p'ay vid me." 

Uncle Eik rose with a laugh, and obediently \vent 
on deck to play. But the play did not last long, 
for that day ominous clouds rose in the west, and, 
overspreading the sky, soon drenched the little 
yacht with rain. Towards evening the rain ceased, 
but the wind increased to a gale, and the weather 
show^ed signs of becoming what is known among 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEI?.. 



409 



seamen, we believe, as dirty. Ere long the low 
naiitierings of thunder increased to mighty peals, 
and the occasional gleams of lightning to frequent 
and vivid flashes, that lit up the scene with the 
brilliancy of full moonlight. 

" I wish we were nearer shore," said Letta, 
timidly, to Eobin, as they stood looking over the 
bulwarks ; " what is the land we see far away on 
our left?" 

" The Island of Mull," returned Eobin. 

" Better if it was further away," growled Captain 
Eik, who overheard the remark. " We want plenty 
of sea-room on a night like this." 

" We 've got sea-room enough," observed Cap- 
tain" Slagg, with the confidence of a man who 
knows well what he is about, as he stood by the 
tiller, balancing himself with his legs well apart. 

" You 've got a lightning conductor on the mast, 
of course ?" observed Captain Eik to Sam. 

" No," replied Sam. 

" Sam ! " exclaimed the captain in a tone of 
intense surprise, " you, of all men, without such a 
safeguard." 

"Well, uncle Eik," replied Sam with a laugh, 
"yachts are not always fitted with conductors. 
But I 'm not so bad as you think me. I had 
ordered a special conductor with some trifling 
novelties of construction for the yacht, but it 



410 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



was not ready when we started, so we had to sail 
without it. However, it is not once in a thousand 
times that a vessel is struck by lightning." 

While Sam was yet speaking, a flash of lightning 
almost blinded them, and the little schooner re- 
ceived a shock which told of disaster. jSText 
moment the roar of reverberating thunder drowned 
the crash of timber as the topmast went overboard, 
carrying the bowsprit and its gear along with it. 

Fortunately no one was hurt, but the schooner 
became unmanageable, owing to the mass of wreck- 
age which hung to her. 

Jim Slagg, seizing an axe, sprang to the side to 
cut this away, ably seconded by all the men on 
board, but before it could be accomplished the 
Gleam had drifted dangerously near to the rocks on 
the coast of Mull. To add to the confusion, the 
darkness became intense. 

Captain Eik, forgetting or ignoring his years, had 
thrown off his coat and was working like a hero 
with the rest. The ladies, unable to remain below, 
were clinging to the stern rails, Madge holding her 
little boy tightly in her arms, and the spray dashing 
wildly over all. 

Another moment and the Gleam struck on the 
rocks with tremendous violence. Only by the light- 
ning could they see the wild rocky shore on which 
they had drifted. 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



41] 



Instinctively each member of the little crew drew 
towards those nearest and dearest. 

" Get out the boat !" shouted Captain Slagg ; 
but the men could not obey, for a heavy sea had 
anticipated them, and the little dingy was already 
careering shoreward, bottom up. 

The next wave lifted the Gleam like a cork, and 
let her down on the rocks like fifty-six tons of lead. 
A flash of lightning revealed for a moment a range 
of frowning cliffs, as if to add horror to a scene that 
was already sufficiently appalling. Then all was 
again dark as Erebus. 

In a frenzy of resolution Captain Eik seized 
an axe with the view of extemporising a raft, when 
the Gleam parted amidships, and we might almost 
say went out, leaving her crew struggling in the waves. 

Sam had seized his wife with his strong left arm 
— he happened to be left-handed — and buffeted 
the waves with his right. Madge held on to Sammy 
with the power of maternal love. Sam was aware 
of that, and felt comparatively at ease in regard to 
his first-born. 

Eobin's arm had been round Letta's waist — 
unknown to himself or her ! — when the Gleam, 
struck. It did not relax when he felt that they 
were afloat. Frank Hedley gallantly offered to 
take charge of Mrs. Langley. 

Ebenezer Smith, being unable to swim, confessed 



412 



THE BA.TTERY AND THE BOILER. 



the fact, with something of a gasp, to Captain Pdk, 
who considerately told him never to mind. 

'* I can swim for both," he said, tying a piece of 
rope-yarn tight round his waist, for he had long 
before cast off coat, vest, and braces ; " but you 
ought to be ashamed of yourself, a man come to 
vour time o' life, an' not able to swim !" 

" But I never lived near the sea, and had no one 
to teach me," pleaded Ebenezer in a tremblingly 
apologetic voice, for the roar of united wind, waves, 
and thunder was really tremendous even to those 
who could swim. 

"What o' that ?" returned Captain Eik, sternly. 
Was there no river or pond nigh ? Even a horse- 
trough or a washing-tub would have sufficed to 
make a man of you. As for teaching — what teach- 
ing did you want ? Swimmin' ain't Latin or Greek ! 
It ain't even mathematics — only aquatics. All the 
brute beasts swim — even donkeys swim without 
teaching. Boh ! bah ! There, lay hold o' me — so. 
IsTow, mind, if you try to take me round the neck 
Avith your two arms I '11 plant my fist on the bridge 
of your nose, an' let you go to Davy Jones's locker." 

A flash of lightning revealed Captain Eik's face 
in such a way that Ebenezer Smith resolved to 
obey him to the letter. 

It was at this point of their conversation that the 
Gleam went down — or out — and they sank with a 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



413 



gurgle, coming up next moment, however, with a 
gasp. 

Strange to say, after the first plunge and over- 
throw amid the boiling waves, the swimmers found 
themselves in almost still water. 

"You'd better let me take Sammy, ma'am," said 
Captain Slagg, swimming quietly alongside of 
Madge, and speaking in the calm tone of a man 
taking an evening stroll. 

"Is that yon, Slagg?" asked Sam, who was strik- 
ing out vigorously. 

" Yes, sir, it is," said Slagg. " You 've no need to 
exert yourself, sir, so violently. I know the spot 
^vell. We 've bin washed clean over the reef by 
the wave that sank us, into a sort o' nat'ral harbour, 
an' we ain't far from shore. I can feel bottom now, 
sir, which, bein' a six-footer, yon '11 touch easy." 

" So I do !" exclaimed Sam, letting down his feet. 
"Madge, darling, cheer up, we've got soundings. 
Give Sammy to Slagg. There, we '11 do famously 
now." 

Only those who have been for a few moments in 
deadly peril can understand the feeling of intense 
relief that came to Sam Shipton's heart when he 
felt his toes touch ground on that eventful night. 
The feeling was expressed in his tone of voice as 
he asked Slagg whether he had seen any of the 
others. 



414 THE BATTEllY AND THE BOILEE. 

" E'o, sir, I ain't seen 'em for want o' light, but 
I 've heerd 'em. Stumps is splutterin' behind us like 
a grampus. If you 'U hold on a bit an' listen you '11 
hear him. He 's a bad swimmer, and it 's all he can 
do to save liisself. If he only knowed he could 
reach bottom with his long legs, he 'd find it easier. 
Not quite so tight, Sammy, my boy, and keep off the 
wind-pipe— so ; you 're quite safe, my lad. As for 
the rest of 'em, sir, they all swim like ducks except 
Mr. Ebbysneezer Smith, but he 's took charge on by 
Captin Eik, so you may keep your mind easy. 
There's a bit o' flat beach hereabouts, an' no sea 
inside the reef, so we '11 git ashore easy enough — 
let's be thankful." 

Jim Slagg was right. They got ashore without 
difficulty, and they were thankful — profoundly so — 
when they had time to think of the danger they had 
escaped. 

After a few minutes' rest and wringing of salt 
water from their garments, they proceeded inland to 
search for shelter, and well was it for the ship- 
wrecked party that the captain of the lost yacht was 
acquainted with the lie of the land, for it was a 
rugged shore, with intermingled fields and morasses, 
and wooded rocky heights, among which it would 
have been difficult, if not impossible, to thread one's 
way in the dark without severe damage to the shins. 
But Jim Slagg led them to a cottage not far from 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



415 



tlie sea, where they received from the family 
resident there at the time a warm and hearty 
Scottish welcome. 

It is not uncommon, we suspect, for eccentric 
natures to undertake the most important matters 
at the most unsuitable times and in the most 
ridiculous manners. At all events Eobin Wright, 
while stumbling among the rocks and rugged ground 
of that midnight march in Mull, dripping wet and 
with the elements at Avar around him, conceived the 
idea of declaring his unalterable, not to say unut- 
terable, attachment to Letta Langiey, who leant 
heavily on the arm of her preserver. But Eobin 
was intensely sensitive. He shrank from the idea 
(which he had only got the length of conceiving), as 
if it had been a suggestion from beneath. It would 
be unfair, mean, contemptible, he thought, to take 
advantage of the darkness and the elemental noise 
to press his suit at such a time. ISTo, he would wait 
till the morrow. 

He did wait for the morrow. Then he waited 
for the morrow afterwards, and as each morrow 
passed he felt that more morrows must come and go, 
for it was quite obvious that Letta regarded him 
only as a brother. 

At last, unable to bear it, our unhappy hero 
suddenly discovered that one of the morrows was 
the last of his leave of absence, so he said good-bye 



416 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILER. 



in despair, and parted from his companions, -who 
could not resist the genial hospitality of their new 
friends in the cottage on the west of Mull. 

Ten days later Sam got a letter from Eobin, telling 
him that he had received a cable-telegram from 
India, from their friend Eedpath, offering him a 
good situation there, and that, having reached the 
lowest depths of despair, he had resolved to accept 
it, and was sorry he should not have an opportunity 
of saying good-bye, as he was urged to start without 
a day's delay. 

Sam was staying with his friends at the Oban 
Hotel at the time, having at last managed to tear 
himself away from the cottage in Mull. 

He instantly ran out and telegraphed — 

" Don't accept on any account." 

Then he sought Mrs. Langley, and opened Eobin's 
case to her. Mrs. Langley listened with a smile 
of intelligence, and soon after went to her daughter's 
room, the window of which commanded a splendid 
view of the western sea. 

"Letta, dear, are you moralising or meditating?" 

" Both, mamma." 

" Well, I will try to help you," said Mrs. Langley, 
seating herself by the window. " By the way, did 
you hear that Mr. Wright has been offered a lucra- 
tive appointment in the Telegraph Department of 
India, and is going off at once ; — has not time 



THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEK. 417 

even to say good-bye to his old friend Sam Ship- 
ton?" 

Letta turned very pale, then extremely red, then 
covered her face with both hands and burst into 
tears. 

" So, Letta, you love him," said her mother, gently. 
" Why did you not let me know this sooner ?" 

" Oh, mamma !" said poor Letta, " why do you put 
it so — so — suddenly. I don't love him — that is — 
I don't know that I love him. I 've never thought 
about it seriously. He has never opened his lips to 
me on the subject — and — and — " 

" Letta, dear," said her mother, tenderly, " would 
you wish to prevent his going away if you could ? 
Open your heart to your mother, darling." 

Letta laid her head on her mother's shoulder, 
but spoke not. 

A few minutes later Mrs. Langley went to Sam 
and said — 

" Eobin must not go to India." 

Sam instantly went by the shortest conceivable 
route to London, where he found Eobin in his room 
feverishly packing his portmanteau, and said — 

" Eobin, you must not go to India." 

From that text he preached an eloquent lay- 
sermon, which he wound up with the words, 
" Now, my boy, you must just propose to her at 
once." 

2 D 



418 



THE BATTEKY AND THE BOILER. 



" But I can't, Sam. I haven't got the pluck. I 'm 
such a miserable sort of fellow — how could I expect 
such a creature to throw herself away on me? 
Besides, it's all very well your saying you have 
good ground for believing she cares for me ; but 
how can you know ? Of course you have not dared 
to speak to her ?" 

Eobin looked actually fierce at the bare idea of 
such a thing. 

" No, I have not dared," said Sam. 

"Well, then. It is merely your good-natured 
fancy. No, my dear fellow, it is my fate. I must 
bow to it. And I know that if I were to wait till I 
see her again, all my courage would have oozed 
away — " 

" But I don't intend that you shall wait, Eobin," 
interrupted Sam. " You need not go on talking so 
selfishly about yourself. You must consider the 
girl. I 'm not going to stand by and see injustice 
done to her. You have paid marked attention to 
her, and are bound in honour to lay yourself at her 
feet, even at the risk of a refusal." 

" But how, Sam ? I tell you if I wait— ' 

" Then don't wait, — telegraph." 

Eobin gazed at his friend in stupefied amazement. 

''What! make a proposal of marriage by tele- 
graph ?" 

"Even soj Eobin. You began life with elec- 



THE BATTEEY AND THE BOILER. 



419 



tricity, so it is quite in keeping that you should 
begin a new departure in life with it." 

Sam rose, sought for paper, and with pencil wrote 
as follows : — 

"Erom Mr. E. Wright, London, to Miss Letta 

Langley, Hotel, Oban. — I can stand it no longer. 

May I come to see you?" 

Presenting this to his friend, Sam said, " May I 
despatch it ?" 

Eobin nodded, smiled, and looked foolish. 

An hour later Mrs. Langley, sitting beside her 
daughter, took up a pen, and wrote as follows : — 

"From Miss Letta Langley, Oban, to E. Wright, 
London. — Yes." 

Presenting this to her daughter, she said, " May I 
send it?" 

Letta once more covered her face with her handp, 
and blushed. 

Thus it came to pass that our hero's fate in life, 
as well as his career, was decided by the electric 
telegraph. 

But the best of it was that Eobin did go to India 
after all — as if to do despite to his friends, who had 
said he must not go. Moreover, he took Letta 
with him, and he hunted many a day through the 
jungles of that land in company with his friend 
Eedpath, and his henchman Flinn. And, long 
afterwards, he returned to England, a sturdy middle- 



420 THE BATTERY AND THE BOILEE. 

aged man, with a wife whose beauty was unabated 
because it consisted, chiefly, in that love of heart to 
God and man which lends never-fading loveliness 
to the human countenance. 

Awaiting them at home was a troop of little ones . 
— the first home-instalment of a troop of lesser 
ones who accompanied the parent stems. All ot 
these, besides being gifted with galvanic energy and 
flashing eyes, were impressed with the strong con- 
viction, strange to say, that batteries, boilers, and 
submarine cables, were the most important things 
in the whole world, and the only subjects worth 
being played at by reasonable human children. 



THE END. 



PKINTED BY T. AND A. CONSTABLE, PRINTERS TO KER MAJESTY, 
AT THE EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS. 



WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 



Crown 8w, 55., dotli. With Illustrations, 

THE GIANT OF THE NORTH; 

Or, POKINGS EOUND THE POLE. 
"A book wMcli every boy will treasure." — Whitehall Review. 

Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

THE LONELY ISLAND; 

Ok, the refuge OF THE MUTINEERS. 

'*Mr. Ballantyne weaves the romantic episode of tbe mutiny of the 
* Bounty' into a most effective narrative."— (rra^^ic. 

Crown ivo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

POST HASTE. 

A TALE OF HER MAJESTY'S MAILS. 

" The book should find a place in every boy's library ; it is full of 
interest."— Zeec^s Mercury. 

Croion 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

IN THE TRACK OF THE TROOPS. 

A TALE OF MODERN WAR. 

" Mr. Ballantyne has blended with the incidents of war on the Danube a 
story of personal adventure spiritedly told." — Daily News. 

Crown 8vo, 5s. , cloth. With Illustrations. 

THE SETTLER AND THE SAVAGE. 

A TALE OF PEACE AND WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA. 

" ' The Settler and the Savage ' is one of Mr. Ballantyne's best stories," — 
Athenceum, 

Croion 8vo, 5s. , cloth. With Illustrations. 

UNDER THE WAVES; 

Or, diving in DEEP WATERS. 

" Mr. Ballantyne enlarges the already gigantic debt due to him by the 
young, by his ' Under the Waves, ' a story meant to illustrate the practice 
and peril of diving in deep water, which it does in not only an interesting 
but often in an amusing manner." — The Times. 



Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

RIVERS OF ICE: 

A TALE ILLUSTRATIVE OF ALPINE ADVENTURE AND 

GLACIER ACTION. 
"A tale brimful of interest and stirring adventure." — Glasgow Herald, 



WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 



Crown 8w, 55., cloth. "With Illustrations. 

THE PI RATE CITY: 

AN ALGERINE TALE. 
" The story is of thrilling interest."— 

Crown 8vo, 5s. , cloth. With Illustrations. 

BLACK IVORY: 

A TALE OF ADVENTURE AMONG THE SLAVERS OF 

EAST AFRICA. 

"Boys will find the book about as delightful a story of adventure as 
any of them could possibly desire." — Scotsman. 

Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

THE NORSEMEN IN THE WEST; 

Or, AMERICA BEFORE COLUMBUS. 

"This thoroughly delightful book cannot possibly be laid down till the 
very last word of the last line has been read." — Athencemn. 

Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

THE IRON HORSE; 

OR LIFE ON THE LINE. A RAILWAY TALE. 

"A captivating book for boys." — Guardian. 

Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

ERLING THE BOLD: 

A TALE OF THE NORSE SEA KINGS. 
"A capital tale of the Norse Sea Kings."— ?Ymss. 

Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

FIGHTING THE FLAMES: 

A TALE OF THE LONDON FIRE BRIGADE. 
"A well-told and interesting story."— Scotsman. 

Crown 8vo, 5s. , cloth. With Illustrations. 

DEEP DOWN: 

A TALE OF THE CORNISH MINES. 

" This is just the subject for Mr. Ballantyne, whose stories in connection 
with that enterprise and adventure which have made England great are 
among the best of modern days." — Daily Neios. 

Crown 8vo, 5s. , cloth. With Illustrations. 

THE FLOATING LIGHT OF THE GOODWIN 

SANDS. 

"The tale will be especially interesting to adventure-loving boys." — 
Record. 



WORKS BY THE SAME A UTHOR. 



3 



Crown 8uo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

SHIFTING WINDS: A TOUGH YARN. 

"It is a most fascinating book for boys and young men." — Daily Review. 
Crown Svo, 5s,, cloth. With Illustrations. 

THE LIGHTHOUSE: 

BEING THE STORY OF A GREAT FIGHT BETWEEN" 
MAN AND THE SEA. 

"Like all his stories for boys, smart in stj^le, thrilling in interest, and 
abounding in incidents of every kind." — Quiver. 

Crown 8vo, 5s. , cloth. With Illustrations. 

TH E LI FEBOAT: 

A TALE OF OUR COAST HEROES. ^ 

"Royal National Lifeboat Institution. 
" Dear Sib, — I am directed by the Committee to request your accept- 
ance of the accompanying Photograph of a Lifeboat proceeding off to a 
\¥reck, as a small permanent acknowledgment of the important service you 
have rendered to the Lifeboat cause by your very interesting work entitled 
'The Lifeboat : a Tale of our Coast Heroes.' — I remain, yours faithfully, 
(Signed) "Eichard Lewis, Secretary.'" 

Crown 8vo, 5s. , cloth. With Illustratioros. 

THE GOLDEN DREAM: 

A TALE OF THE DIGGINGS. 

Crown 8vo, 5s., cloth. With Illustrations. 

GASCOYNE, THE SANDALWOOD TRADER: 

A TALE OF THE PACIFIC. 

"It is full of cleverly and impressively drawn pictures of life and 
character in the Pacific, and has as much of the sensational, though by no 
means unnatural, element mixed and mingled with it as to excite the 
earnest interest and absorb the closest attention of the young people for 
whom it is chiefly designed." — Caledonian Mercury. 



Crovm 8vo, 3s. 6c?., cloth, iZhistrated. 

MY DOGGIE AND I. 

" One of the most delightful stories which we have yet seen in Christmas 
books." — Daily Review. 

Crown 8vo, 3s. Qd. , cloth, illustrated. 

SIX MONTHS AT THE CAPE. 

Letters to Periwinkle erom South Aerica. A Record oe Per- 
sonal Experience and Adventure. With Twelve Illustra- 
tions BY THE Author. 

"R. M. Ballantyne contributes a cheery diary of 'Six Months at the 
Cape," giving a laughable account of ostrich farming, and the peculiarities 
of the unpleasant- tempered bird." — Graphic. 

" A genuine book of travel in South Africa. The book is spirited and 
entertaining." — Daily JVews, 



4 



WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 



Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d., cloth, illustrated. 

THE RED MAN'S REVENGE. 

Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d., cloth, illustrated. 

PHILOSOPHER JACK. 

A TALE OF THE SOUTHERN SEAS. 
"Eelated in the author's best style." — Liverpool Courier. 



With Illustrations. 16mo, each Is., cloth ; or the set of 16 Boohs in a 

Handsome Box, 17s. 6d. 

BALLANTYNE'S BOYS' LIBRARY! 

OR, MISCELLANY, 



1. Figliting the Whales, 

2. Away in the Wilderness, 

3. Fast in the Ice. 

4. Chasing the Sun, 

5. Sunk at Sea, 

6. Lost in the Forest. 

7. Over the Rocky Mountains, 

8. Saved by the Lifetooat. 



9. The Cannibal Islands. 

10. Hunting the Lions. 

11. Digging for Gold. 

12. Up in the Clouds. 

13. The Battle and the Breeze. 

14. The Pioneers. 

15. The Story of the Rock. 

16. Wrecked, hut not Ruined. 



From the late Eev. Norman M'Leod, Glasgov).' 

"1 think Mr. Ballantyne's volumes admirably adapted to interest and 
instruct the young." 

" We have no hesitation in asserting that Ballantyne's Miscellany, up 
to the present point, is attractive and useful." — Athenceum. 



Crown 8vo, each 3s. 6d., cloth. 

TALES OF ADVENTURE. 

(from "ballantyne's miscellany,") 

CONTENTS OF VOL, I. 



1. Fighting the Whales. 

2, Fast in the Ice. 



3, The Cannibal Islands, 

4. The Battle and the Breeze. 



CONTENTS OE VOL, IL 



1. Sunk at Sea, 

2. Lost in the Forest. 



3. Over the Rocky Mountains. 

4. Digging for Gold. 



CONTENTS OF VOL. III. 



1. Hunting the Lions. 

2. Away in the Wilderness. 

3. Up in the Clouds. 



4. The Pioneers : a Tale of the 
Western Wilderness. 



1. Chasing- the Sun. 

2. Saved by the Lifeboat 



CONTENTS OF VOL. IV. 

3. The Story of the Rock. 



4. Wrecked, but not Rained. 



LONDON : JAMES NISBET & CO., 21 BERNEES STEEET.
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